The Stories That Matter film series presented an April 30 screening of “Deepfaking Sam Altman” at 6:30 p.m. to a full house in the Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C.
This documentary, from Emmy-nominated director Adam Bhala Lough, blends comedy with thought-provoking questions, exploring identity, responsibility, and the uneasy boundaries between humans and Artificial Intelligence in an era when machines convincingly imitate real people. The film follows Lough as he sets out to interview tech leader Sam Altman about the future of generative AI. After being unable to secure the interview, Lough and his partners create a deepfaked version of Altman instead. Traveling to India to build the digital replica, Lough develops “Sam Bot,” a glitchy large-language model version of Altman that gradually becomes an unexpected presence in his life – interacting with the filmmaker, befriending his young son, and, to a degree, helping shape the film itself. As the line between experiment and relationship begins to blur, Lough confronts the legal, ethical, and emotional implications of bringing AI to life.
Prior to the screening, the film’s producer Luke Kelly-Clyne, a Johns Hopkins alumnus and the Head of Studio for Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat production company, led a master class with students in JHU’s undergraduate and MA in Film and Media programs. Lough and Kelly-Cline also participated in a panel discussion at the conclusion of the film. They were joined by Noel King, the co-host and editorial director of Vox’s news podcast, Today, Explained and the former host of NPR’s Morning Edition, and Griffin Milsap, Senior Staff Researcher at Johns Hopkins’ Applied Physics Laboratory. Sig Libowitz, director of JHU’s nationally recognized graduate program, moderated the discussion.
“What starts off as a lighthearted comedy turns into a mind-bending, thought-provoking film about the unintended consequences of AI,” Libowitz said. “We were delighted to showcase this thoughtful, prescient film and to host a spirited discussion between the film’s creators and our audience.”
The Stories That Matter film series presents narrative features, documentaries, and short films, designed to spark conversations among filmmakers, scholars, and students. Anchored at the Hopkins Bloomberg Center, the series also brings select films to Johns Hopkins campuses in Baltimore and Bologna, Italy.