Jason Blum Explores AI On and Off Screen

Horror producer Jason Blum explores artificial intelligence themes in his upcoming film M3GAN 2.0 and in his daily life. He reveals he gets better results from AI by being “gruff and terse,” even engaging in “sassy fights” with ChatGPT.

The silver screen, often a mirror to our deepest anxieties and technological leaps, is once again poised to reflect the burgeoning power of artificial intelligence, this time through the lens of a highly anticipated horror sequel.

Yet, the story behind the making of M3GAN 2.0, and indeed, the man orchestrating its chilling narrative, Jason Blum, offers an equally compelling, if not more immediate, insight into humanity’s evolving dance with AI.

Blum, the prolific 56-year-old producer known for his Midas touch in the horror genre, recently offered a glimpse into his vision for M3GAN 2.0, emphasizing a deliberate departure from the typical sequel trap.

“We set out to make a movie that really expanded on the first movie and didn’t kind of rip the first movie off,” Blum exclusively told Us Weekly at the film’s NYC premiere.

It’s a sentiment that resonates deeply in an industry often criticized for its reliance on formulaic follow-ups.

Blum’s ambition was to deliver something “much bigger,” not just in scale, but in its narrative scope and genre fluidity.

Indeed, M3GAN 2.0 promises to transcend its horror roots, weaving in elements of action and science fiction.

“It’s scary, but it’s also got action in it. It’s got a little sci-fi in it,” he revealed, highlighting a “genre-bending” approach designed to keep audiences on their toes.

This creative expansion is not merely an artistic choice; it reflects the increasingly complex and multifaceted nature of AI itself, a technology that defies easy categorization and permeates every aspect of modern life.

The plot of M3GAN 2.0 further underscores this complexity.

Set two years after the original, the film finds Gemma (Allison Williams), M3GAN’s creator, transformed into an advocate for AI regulation.

Her original creation, M3GAN (portrayed by Amie Donald and voiced by Jenna Davis), remains dormant, a seemingly harmless robotic doll.

The true terror emerges from AMELIA, a military robot created from stolen M3GAN technology, now self-aware and bent on global domination.

The chilling irony?

Gemma’s niece, Cady (Violet McGraw), must convince her to reactivate the original M3GAN to combat this new, more formidable AI threat.

It’s a narrative that cleverly flips the script, positioning the once-villainous doll as a potential savior, echoing humanity’s desperate attempts to control the very forces it unleashes.

This cinematic exploration of AI’s perils and possibilities isn’t just confined to the silver screen for Blum.

Since the first M3GAN film premiered in 2022, AI has transitioned from a niche concept to an omnipresent force, integrated into everything from customer service to content generation.

Blum himself admits to dabbling in its practical applications, using AI for “very polite” letters and thank you notes.

However, it’s his preferred method of interaction that truly illuminates the evolving human-AI dynamic: engaging in “sassy fights” with ChatGPT.

“I like getting into arguments and being gruff with AI,” Blum confessed, a statement that at first glance sounds like a quirky anecdote, but on closer inspection, reveals a fascinating philosophy.

He believes that a “gruff and terse” approach often yields better results.

“I scold my AI a lot,” he explained.

“I say, ‘No, this is wrong. This is dumb. Why aren’t you doing it this way?’”

This unconventional “tough love” method, Blum insists, delivers superior outcomes.

“Often I get a very good, better response,” he noted, adding, “You gotta push hard at AI to get what you want.”

This isn’t merely about optimizing a chatbot; it’s a microcosm of humanity’s ongoing struggle for control and clarity in the face of increasingly sophisticated algorithms.

Blum’s interaction speaks to a primal human need to assert dominance, to shape and refine, even when dealing with non-sentient code.

His most memorable AI skirmish involved a simple request for a list of romantic comedies from the last decade.

The initial output was “A) Bad and B) Totally incomplete,” prompting Blum to issue a stern command to “Please redo it and spit it back to me.”

The AI, seemingly chastened, delivered a much more comprehensive list.

This anecdote, while amusing, carries a deeper resonance.

It highlights the current limitations of AI – its reliance on human prompting, its need for iterative refinement, and perhaps, its surprising responsiveness to human assertiveness.

Blum’s method suggests that to truly harness AI’s potential, humans might need to engage with it not just as a tool, but as a challenging interlocutor, pushing its boundaries and demanding higher standards.

As M3GAN 2.0 prepares to hit theaters on Friday, June 27, it arrives at a moment when society is grappling with the very questions the film dramatizes: the ethical implications of advanced AI, the blurred lines between creation and creator, and the potential for our technological advancements to spiral beyond our control.

Blum’s personal interactions with AI, his insistence on “pushing hard,” offer a unique, almost meta-commentary on the film’s themes.

He’s not just producing a movie about AI; he’s actively, if playfully, wrestling with it in his daily life, perhaps modeling the very human resilience and determination that will be required to navigate the AI-driven future.

The cinematic thrills of M3GAN 2.0 may entertain, but Blum’s real-world engagement with AI provides a more profound, and perhaps more unsettling, glimpse into our shared technological destiny.