Spielberg on AI: No Substitute for the Soul

Steven Spielberg told Michelle Obama's podcast on May 27 that AI cannot be the final word on any creative decision. The episode, titled "Reach for Greatness with Steven Spielberg," was only his third podcast appearance in a career spanning 57 years.

He uses AI for practical work, including location scouting and research. On creative authorship, he does not. "Use AI as a tool, but do not use AI as the final word on anything creative", he told hosts Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson. "That's where I draw the line".

The Seventh Writer

To describe what he refuses, Spielberg offered a writers' room image. Six humans sit around a table. A computer occupies an empty seventh chair. "It is the seventh writer", he said. He does not accept that arrangement.

The image appeared in a different form at SXSW in March 2026, where he told an audience there is not an empty chair with a laptop in his writing process. Two months later, the empty chair and the computer returned as the scenario he describes to explain his limit, rather than the one he denies exists.

Soul and Sentience

Spielberg placed his objection in the language of sentience. "I don't really believe in sentience", he said. "I don't believe there is any substitute for the soul".

AI can produce useful output. His argument is that what it produces is categorically different from what a person produces, and that the difference is precisely what an audience watches a film to find.

A Position That Has Sharpened

He also said he is withholding judgment "until I see really how it is being used". That framing reserves the right to revise while maintaining a firm present limit.

Steven Soderbergh reached a comparable position from the opposite direction. Soderbergh confirmed in April 2026 that his new film uses AI extensively in post production, calling it "just another tool." Both directors place the same limit in the same spot: tools assist, authorship remains with a person.

Career Context

Spielberg has directed more than 30 features including Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schindler's List, and Saving Private Ryan. He adopted Steadicam, photorealistic CGI, digital intermediate grading, and virtual production across five decades on his own terms, each time as a tool extending what he wanted to do rather than as a replacement for the judgment behind it.

"IMO" is hosted by Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson and releases new episodes on Wednesdays. Spielberg has appeared on a podcast only three times across his career. The full episode is available on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

Filmmakers who want to work with AI on their own terms can generate video, images, and sound in AI FILMS Studio.

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Sources

Variety | Deadline | The Wrap | IMO Podcast