Daniel Kwan, Director of ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once,’ Shares Thoughts on 2016 Photo Posting Trend at Sundance: “Avoid This!”
Oscar-winning filmmaker Daniel Kwan, known for his work on Everything Everywhere All at Once, recently spoke out against a popular social media trend involving the sharing of 2016 photos. Kwan expressed concern that such activities may inadvertently assist technology companies in training algorithms to analyze and represent age over time.
During an A.I. panel hosted by the Hollywood Reporter and moderated by Chris Gardner, Kwan urged participants to “Stop it!” in reference to the trend. “They’re (tech companies) are using that to train their machines on you to show people age,” he emphasized.
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Kwan elaborated on his mixed feelings about creating a documentary focused on artificial intelligence, stating, “First thing you need to know about an AI docu is that no one wants to do an AI doc, no one on my team wanted to do it.” He viewed it as an opportunity to clarify a critical conversation about emerging technologies, noting that his interest began to spark after the release of Everything Everywhere, even before the advent of Google Chat GPT.
He voiced concerns over a global corporate race for AI dominance, warning that tech corporations are deploying these advancements in societies that may not be prepared. “What goes wrong here is that these tech corps are deploying this technology on a society that isn’t ready for it,” Kwan stated.
Kwan stressed the need for international cooperation in navigating the complexities of AI developments. “My fear is that if the film industry, not just Hollywood, but YouTubers, influencers, if we’re not careful, if we don’t come together to set the terms of our industry, the tech industry is going to set the terms for us,” he warned during the session held at the Pendry Hotel in Park City.
“If we don’t build up our collective leverage against the tech industry, then basically what’s going to happen is that they will divide and conquer,” Kwan continued, highlighting an urgent need for unity across various sectors within the industry.
He called for the formation of a coordinating body among agencies, unions, studios, and other stakeholders to collectively address the challenges posed by rapidly advancing technology. “Even if we have different opinions, we need to find the areas of overlap which will give us more power,” Kwan noted.
Reflecting on his past successes, Kwan humorously lamented missing out on this year’s festival marketing. When asked about his breakout film at Sundance, Swiss Army Man, he quipped, “I’m really mad that we’re not in the marketing this year — you don’t want a farting corpse movie?”
