Ben Affleck Details AI and Challenges the Sale Price of His Startup

In a video interview, Ben Affleck demonstrated his comfort with the vocabulary and mechanisms of AI, from Python to neural networks. These statements follow already viral interventions and the sale of his company InterPositive to Netflix, a deal he contests regarding the reported amount.

Viral Statements and Reservations About Creative AI

In November 2024, Ben Affleck spoke at a CNBC investor summit to discuss the limitations of artificial intelligence in cinema. He compared AI to a craftsman capable of imitating existing techniques, arguing that large video and language models do not produce anything truly original. According to him, the ability to know when to stop, which pertains to taste, would be difficult to convey to a machine. A clip from this talk garnered over 20 million views on X. In January, his comments on The Joe Rogan Experience circulated widely again when he attributed some of the fears surrounding AI to attempts to justify company valuations, citing promises like "in two years, there will be no jobs" in connection with investments in data centers. Investor Michael Burry praised these remarks on X, stating that Affleck is intelligent and that his comments seemed familiar and relevant.

A Technical Demonstration in GQ, Published Tuesday

In the One More Question series from GQ, published Tuesday, Ben Affleck claimed to know how to program in Python and explained how convolutional neural networks work. He dedicated several minutes to contemporary AI concepts, notably mentioning transformers, tensors, and edge detection. Interviewer Zach Baron humorously reacted to this level of technicality. Affleck clarified that his passion for computing dates back to his youth and has strengthened with the transition from film to digital, adding that machine learning has been used for years in visual effects.

InterPositive: A Sale to Netflix and a Contested Amount

Affleck quietly founded InterPositive, a film technology startup related to AI, in 2022. The company was sold to Netflix earlier this year. A figure of $587 million was reported for this deal, but Affleck clarified in the GQ interview that this number was incorrect.

Online Reception and Public Image

A clip from the GQ exchange about AI went viral, eliciting surprise, joy, and jokes, including a reference to the film Good Will Hunting co-written by Affleck. The actor also noted that after recently winning on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, the messages he received expressed some confusion, with incredulous phrasing. In this interview, he also addressed technical topics such as Python and convolutional neural networks.