It’s deeply ironic that an endless stream of films exploring a technology purported to destroy the creative industry feels so soulless. AI: Probably Nothing to Worry About presents a version of generative technology that feels painfully dated. We saw similar themes earlier this year at Sundance with The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (from the team behind Everything Everywhere All at Once), and it’s perhaps less aggressive than Valerie Veitch’s Ghost in the Machine, which also premiered there.
AI: Probably Nothing to Worry About Tribeca Review
A still from AI: Probably Nothing to Worry About, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 6, 2026.
The unfortunate truth about features like AI: Probably Nothing to Worry About is that they mimic the very algorithms they critique. They all share identical ideas, regurgitated in slightly different ways. We learn how the tech can benefit our lives, and then we hear how it will decimate the livelihoods of brilliant, creative minds.
The biggest problem this project faces is speed. At this point, we’ve already seen enough films that explain the detrimental effects these tools will have on us. We don’t need another feature to tell us that the billionaires pushing these platforms operate with villainous, fascistic tendencies. You can scroll through Twitter every day and see that for free.
Related: The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist Sundance Review – Daniel Roher’s AI Documentary is Creatively Maximalist
We have real, immediate problems unfolding in the industry right now, and at some point we have to accept that watching another movie about evil technology is just showing us things we already know. The exhaustion sets in, and the cinematic value is diminished.
AI: Probably Nothing to Worry About tries to succeed by taking a more sincere perspective. There are creators who cover this topic to chase a trend, and then there are documentarians who take their time to showcase all angles. This film attempts to fall into the latter camp. It features a group of nondescript interviewers exploring the possibilities of generative tools because they deeply care about their ramifications.
Related: “AI is the stick to poke me with”: Even Pluribus Boss Vince Gilligan Is Scared of Artificial Intelligence
The problem is that separating yourself from the noise requires a unique angle, and this film fails to find one. It’s informative and interesting at times, but it parrots the most basic messages we’ve already absorbed: the models are trained on stolen data, and disastrous results are coming.
With this onslaught of similar projects, you have to wonder if they’re desensitizing the public to the dangers of the technology. Like every other exploration of the topic, I find these features are arriving far too slowly to be relevant. Recently, Google’s Gemini introduced a new mode for its hundreds of millions of users. Yet this film is already months behind what it set out to portray. Every picture chasing this subject is destined to have the same fate as one covering the fascistic actions of the current Trump administration. It’s far too speculative and instantly dated by something bigger, bolder, and more evil than before.
Is AI: Probably Nothing to Worry About worth watching?
Yes, the technology can be evil. Yes, it can be good. It’s not enough to parrot these two dichotomies and pretend you’re saying something profound. What the industry needs is a temporary moratorium on features about immediate current events. Only through sustained reflection can a unique perspective be formed. It’s tempting to be the first to speak about a crisis, but your initial reaction is almost never the most informed, and documentarians should take note.
While the filmmakers’ intentions might have started from a sincere place, the final product feels like a cynical cash grab trying to capitalize on a profitable buzzword. And while that isn’t worse than the technology actively threatening our livelihoods, it certainly doesn’t make for a great movie.
AI: Probably Nothing to Worry About premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, which runs from June 3 – 14, 2026.
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