Andrew Garfield Quits ChatGPT After Playing Sam Altman in ‘Artificial’

Andrew Garfield has made a name for himself by fully immersing into roles that resonate long after filming ends, and his latest transformation seems to have impacted him in unexpected ways. Currently, he is busy with promotional activities for two distinct films, one set in medieval England and the other within the high-stakes world of Silicon Valley.

In the latter, Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming drama ‘Artificial,’ Garfield portrays OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, depicting the tumultuous five days in November 2023 when Altman was both fired and reinstated. This role demands deep engagement with a very real and contemporary cultural issue.

This deep dive into the character has seemingly had repercussions. During a recent appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” Garfield shared that he stopped using ChatGPT right after finishing the film, likening this reaction to a previous experience from another project.

Garfield noted that this isn’t the first time a role centered around technology influenced his personal choices. He drew parallels to his portrayal of Eduardo Saverin in ‘The Social Network,’ revealing to TheWrap that he also quit Facebook after that film. This instinct resurfaced following ‘Artificial,’ as he mentioned that he immediately stopped using ChatGPT, viewing it more as a personal reaction rather than a political statement.

When Kimmel inquired whether playing Altman made him feel anxious about the rise of AI, Garfield responded with a mix of dry humor and seriousness. He joked that everything seemed fine, but confessed he struggles to articulate his unease, attributing it to a general sense that society is venturing into uncharted territory as he learns more about the technology.

Garfield also critiqued the tech industry’s surprisingly open acknowledgment of AI’s disruptive potential, highlighting that companies admit no one truly knows who might lose their jobs or how the economy will adjust. He added with a sardonic twist that everyone will find out together, and that it’s supposed to be great.

Much of Garfield’s Kimmel appearance focused on his other project, ‘The Uprising,’ a Paul Greengrass-directed film where he plays a leader of a rebellion against King Richard II in 1300s England. He pointed out that although ‘The Uprising’ will hit theaters first, he filmed ‘Artificial’ before it, making the contrasting experiences fascinating.

He described the two roles as starkly different in terms of power dynamics, transitioning from one of the most influential figures today to a character with little power in 1381. This shift between a modern tech mogul and a medieval peasant leader seems to have influenced how openly Garfield discusses the real-world implications of AI.

‘Artificial’ has already sparked conversations ahead of its release, having been dropped by Amazon MGM Studios in June, shortly after Amazon announced a significant partnership with OpenAI. Garfield has also clarified that he has never met Altman, despite dedicating months to studying and portraying him on screen.

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