Actor, host, and entrepreneur Richard Juan produced and starred in the first short film written and directed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) titled The Safe Zone. 

The short film follows the story of siblings Emily, Lucy, and Jake, who must decide which one of them will be admitted to the only safe place left in a world overrun by AI. The film was written using the AI chatbot ChatGPT, a prototype developed by OpenAI which specializes in dialogue

In an interview with PUSH, Richard shared how he came up with the idea of producing a film written and directed by AI.

“As a producer, I was always looking for innovative and interesting ways to tell stories and engage audiences. And it’s just so crazy how this whole idea started literally on December 2, two days after the launch of the latest version of ChatGPT to the public. My serial tech entrepreneur friend Aaron Kemmer showed me this new tech called ChatGPT during one of our hangouts and we decided to play around with it…which eventually led to us making it write full scripts,“ he relayed.

He continued, “When we learned about the capabilities of AI in the realm of content creation, we saw an opportunity to push the boundaries of traditional filmmaking and explore a new medium. I was excited by the prospect of seeing what an AI could come up with and how it could bring a fresh perspective to the storytelling process.”

Richard did not only produce the short film but also acted in it alongside actress Denise Laurel, who plays Emily,  and beauty queen Angelia Ong, who plays Lucy.

“Working with an AI on a film project like this was a unique, fascinating and mind blowing experience. It was interesting to see how the AI approached the creative process and how it used data and algorithms to generate creative ideas. I found that the AI was able to bring a level of objectivity and efficiency to the process, and it was able to generate a wide range of ideas and options for us to consider. These ideas would then work as a catalyst for us humans to continue and build on those ideas,” Richard said.

On his greatest learning working with AI, Richard highlighted that he realized that a collaboration between humans and AI is actually possible.

“One of my greatest learnings from working with AI was the importance of being open to new ideas and approaches. The AI was able to challenge my assumptions and push me to think outside the box in ways that I wouldn't have done on my own. It was a valuable reminder that creativity and innovation can come from a wide range of sources, and that it's important to be open to new ways of thinking and working," he said. 

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Richard added, "Furthermore, it goes both ways. I believe there were still some limitations for the current form of the AI. For example, it was not able to scan or see what is happening on the set and hence its judgment is completely based on our descriptions. So ultimately, it feels more like a collaboration between AI and humans for this project, where we both help each other create this final end product."

The Safe Zone has been released on YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.