AI mogul movies line up as tech chiefs argue over the future
Hollywood is turning AI power players into movie material while executives, economists and Wall Street voices split over where the technology is headed.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
4 min read
AI’s biggest bosses are becoming screen characters again, and the timing is spicy: the people selling the future are not giving the same answer about what comes next.
Deadline columnist Peter Bart points to a new run of projects centered on tech chiefs, including The Social Reckoning and Artificial, alongside books and TV projects about the people shaping the AI boom. The Social Reckoning features Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg, according to Columbia Pictures materials cited by Deadline.
The new wave follows the long shadow of The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin’s Facebook drama, but Bart writes that the mood has changed. The earlier movie found comedy in young coders chasing status and money. The current crop is focused on powerful executives, including Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, as AI reshapes work, culture and politics.
AI on screen, anxiety off screen
The Economist, in a review titled Boom and Gloom, described the tech world as having once eaten the world and now eating itself. The Wall Street Journal, in an editorial cited by Bart, said OpenAI is expected to spend $600 billion on AI infrastructure by 2030 while bringing in $2 billion a month in revenue and seeking more government support.
The Journal also reported this week that anger over AI has led some tech executives to increase security and worry about their safety.
Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive, has acknowledged the gap between technical ambition and social fallout. Bart quoted him saying the industry had underestimated the need to keep people at the center, and that its technological forecasts had been stronger than its predictions about social and economic consequences.
Apple filed a lawsuit last week accusing OpenAI of stealing trade secrets, according to Bart. OpenAI’s response to that allegation was not reported.
Artificial changes hands
Artificial, a film about Altman and OpenAI, was financed last year by Amazon MGM, according to Deadline. Bart reported that the studio dropped its distribution plans after director Luca Guadagnino finished the film.
After screenings described by Bart as nervous, Neon picked up the movie for release next month. Andrew Garfield stars in Artificial; Bart noted the irony that Garfield also appeared in The Social Network as a player who first wins and then loses.
More tech-world material is also moving toward production. Bart reported that films based on the prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket are on the way.
Bosses can’t agree on jobs
The public forecasts from tech leaders are all over the map. Bart cited Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying there should be more jobs in the future because of AI, rather than fewer. Two months later, Zuckerberg laid off 8,000 workers, according to Bart.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned that half of entry-level jobs would soon be wiped out, Bart wrote, before making deeper cuts within a month.
Predictions about the work week are just as scattered. Bart cited Zoom CEO Eric Yuan forecasting a three-day week, Steve Cohen predicting four days and Bill Gates predicting two. Musk went further, saying work could become optional and comparing it to sport or a video game.
The uncertainty extends beyond AI. The New Yorker’s June 2026 profile of Ken Griffin put his fortune near $50 billion and said his property portfolio resembled that of a Saudi prince, while also describing him as giving off the feel of a suburban dad in a polo shirt and jeans who drinks Coke with Häagen-Dazs for breakfast. Bart noted that Griffin paid $238 million two years ago for a four-story Manhattan penthouse and is now considering Miami for tax and lifestyle reasons.
Paramount chief David Ellison is also facing a complicated runway. Bart reported that Ellison wants to make about 30 movies a year from a new cloud studio, but must first deal with antitrust suits from 12 states and foreign territories that could threaten start dates and worry foreign investors.
The movies may be lining up fast, but the people they are about still cannot agree on whether AI brings more work, less work or a future where work becomes optional.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.