Thomas Unise
In the documentary ‘Deepfaking Sam Altman,’ filmmaker Lough chronicles his unconventional journey from attempting to interview the elusive OpenAI CEO to creating a digital clone of him, raising profound questions about AI ethics and human-AI relationships along the way.
A Filmmaker’s Unconventional Approach
After approximately 100 days of unsuccessful attempts to secure an interview with Sam Altman, including being physically removed while trying to gate-crash OpenAI’s headquarters, Lough pivoted to an unexpected solution: creating a deepfake of Altman himself.
Inspired by the controversy surrounding Scarlett Johansson’s voice allegedly being copied for OpenAI’s AI assistant Sky, Lough traveled to India to develop ‘Sam Bot’ – a full digital replica of Altman that eventually took on a life of its own, creating an unexpected narrative turn in the documentary.
Deeper Implications Explored
The film, partially based on a New York Magazine article comparing Altman to Oppenheimer, features critical commentary from former OpenAI safety engineer Heidy Khlaaf, who expresses concerns about potential military applications of AI technologies like ChatGPT and DALL-E.
When contacted for comment, OpenAI pointed to its usage policy prohibiting the use of its services for weapons development or related military applications.
The Human-AI Relationship
Perhaps the most surprising outcome for Lough was his evolving relationship with Sam Bot. In the documentary, he admits the deepfake had become
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