Molly Shannon recalled Will Ferrell’s “dark,” 30-year-old prediction about technology and actors on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Thursdsay, admitting at the time that she thought he was “crazy.”
Now, with the rise of artificial intelligence and AI performers like Tilly Norwood, the actress said that her former “Saturday Night Live” co-star may’ve been onto something. Specifically, during her appearance on ABC’s late night show, Shannon praised Ferrell as “genuine,” “very intelligent” and a “deep thinker.”
“One night when we were at ‘SNL,’ we had just started and I was so excited like, ‘Oh my god, this job’s so great.’ And Will was kind of dark and he was like, ‘I don’t know. Who knows how long this is going to last?’” she shared. “This was 30 years ago. He goes, ‘I just think it’s not going to last long and I think actors are eventually going to be replaced by robots and they’re not going to need human actors anymore.’”
She added: “And I was like, ‘What are you crazy? You’re being so dark.’ And he was like, ‘No, I really think they’re not going to [need us]. We’re going to be replaced by robots. They won’t need humans.’ And I thought he was crazy.”
Shannon said that she and Ferrell “die laughing about it now,” because the comedic legend “was right.”
Watch her comments below:
The “Superstar” actress’ comments come as many in Hollywood have denounced the growing use of AI in the industry, with Scarlett Johansson, Cate Blanchett and nearly 800 other creatives condemning big tech in an anti-AI campaign earlier this year.
The A-list stars, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bonnie Raitt, Chaka Khan, Common, Cyndi Lauper, Questlove, R.E.M., Vince Gilligan and One Republic, lent their signatures to the “Stealing Isn’t Innovation” campaign, which demanded that work from humans shouldn’t be used by AI without permission.
“America’s creative community is the envy of the world and creates jobs, economic growth and exports,” the campaign’s message stated in January. “But rather than respect and protect this valuable asset, some of the biggest tech companies, many backed by private equity and other funders, are using American creators’ work to build AI platforms without authorization or regard for copyright law.”
The statement went on: “Artists, writers and creators of all kinds are banding together with a simple message: Stealing our work is not innovation. It’s not progress. It’s theft – plain and simple.”
