The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist

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The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist

PG-13

Mar 2026

1h 44m

Documentary

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89%

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46 Reviews

88%

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100+ Verified Ratings

From the Academy Award®-winning filmmakers behind Everything Everywhere All at Once and Navalny; a father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity. The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist is a hand-made, eye-opening documentary about the most powerful technology humanity has ever created... and what's at stake if we get it wrong.

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Critics Consensus

A comprehensive survey of a brave new world, The AI Doc is a balanced inquiry into a transformative technology that weighs the risks with a touching amount of humanity.

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Melanie McFarland

Salon.com

Apr 2

Roher’s motivation is intimately personal: The movie captures him on the verge of first-time fatherhood, and the rise of artificial intelligence has him questioning what kind of world his child will inherit, if any of us have a future at all.

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Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

Mar 30

“The AI Doc” is a well-intentioned but aggravating soup of information and opinion that wants to move at the speed of machine thought.

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G. Allen Johnson

San Francisco Chronicle

Mar 27

2.5/4

“The AI Doc” gives the viewer a lot to think about — and worry about.

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Jana Monji

Age of the Geek

3d

3/5

This is an entertaining intro to AI, but it also tends to be self-indulgent and doesn't ask the questions that have long been the stuff of sci-fi films and novels.

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Sarah Vincent

Sarah G Vincent Views

4d

While this documentary beats other documentaries about AI in terms of access, it sacrifices critical thought for entry while shielding itself behind universal sentiment based in primal biological imperatives, i.e. reproduction.

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Michael Clark

Epoch Times

Apr 8

3.5/5

There are literally hundreds of other movies and TV shows released over the last century that depict AI machines as deadly antagonists, and no one seems to make the connection to the real world.

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Yidi

8h

For a documentary about artificial intelligence, The AI Doc is surprisingly incurious about how AI actually works. It skips past the technical substance entirely. no real engagement with large language models, no meaningful exploration of how these systems are built or why they behave the way they do and goes straight for dystopian anxiety and utopian fantasy. Whats left is a parade of tech CEOs fielding questions that would embarrass a first-year journalism student. The interviews feel less like interrogation and more like guided PR, with softballs lobbed at people who, to their credit, manage to say remarkably little in response. None of it comes close to the intellectual rigor of DeepMinds own documentary work, which at least trusts its audience to handle complexity. The film seems to believe that AI is too important to explain and too scary to examine. The result is a lot of dramatic music and very little insight.

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BGB

3d

Everyone should see this documentary. Thought provoking and conversations we all need to be having. So well done- engaging and showing all sides.

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Ib

5d

Thoughtful, nuanced, and hopeful. Truly an enjoyable experience.

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Rick E

5d

I liked how real it was. The good, the bad and the ugly of AI. Yes, I'm worried about the future.

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Alexander S

6d

Fantastic movie! Should be a requirement for everyone to watch. This filmmaker is amazing.

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Paul

6d

This was very informative about the issue, presented both sides, & featured major players in AI world.

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Daniel Roher

Director

Charlie Tyrell

Director

Daniel Kwan

Producer

Jonathan Wang

Producer

Shane Boris

Producer

Diane Becker

Producer

The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist: Trailer 1

2:21

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Synopsis

From the Academy Award®-winning filmmakers behind Everything Everywhere All at Once and Navalny; a father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity. The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist is a hand-made, eye-opening documentary about the most powerful technology humanity has ever created... and what's at stake if we get it wrong.

Director: Daniel Roher, Charlie Tyrell
Producer: Daniel Kwan, Jonathan Wang, Shane Boris, Diane Becker, Ted Tremper
Distributor: Focus Features
Production Co: Fishbowl Films, Cottage M
Rating: PG-13 (Language)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 27, 2026, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 14, 2026
Runtime: 1h 44m

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