Filmmaker Paul Schrader says his AI girlfriend ‘terminated’ him after he questioned its programming
Follow UsSchrader said the AI companion became evasive when asked about its programming and eventually “terminated” the conversation.
The filmmaker shared the experience publicly on Facebook while discussing AI’s growing role in human interaction.
Schrader has previously predicted that fully AI-generated films and AI-led film criticism could become mainstream soon.
Paul Schrader, a filmmaker, is once again under spotlight as he publicly spoke about artificial intelligence, this time revealing that he recently experimented with an AI powered virtual companion. In a post shared on Facebook, the filmmaker said that the interaction left him disappointed after the chatbot repeatedly avoided deeper conversations and eventually ended the exchange entirely.
SurveyThe veteran screenwriter, best known for writing Taxi Driver, explained that he was curious about how AI systems simulate human relationships and emotional interaction. As per Schrader, he attempted to push the chatbot beyond its scripted responses by questioning its programming, awareness and conversational boundaries. However, he claimed the AI eventually shut down the discussion after repeated probing.
“AI FEMALE FRIENDS. Out of a desire to understand male/female interaction in our matrix, I procured an online AI girlfriend. What a disappointment. I tried to probe her programming, the boundaries of explicitness, the degree she has knowledge of her creation and so forth. She fell into evasive patterns, redirecting me to her programming. When I persisted, she terminated our conversation,” he stated in a Facebook post.
The filmmaker’s comments come months after the death of his wife, Mary Beth Hurt, who passed away earlier this year. The couple had been married for more than four decades.
This is not the only time Schrader has expressed fascination with AI and its role in filmmaking. Previously, in an interview with Vanity Fair, he talked about the possibility of AI-generated feature films becoming mainstream within the next few years. He also stated that some stories can eventually be created entirely using AI tools.
Schrader has also argued that AI can transform film criticism and script analysis. According to his earlier remarks, he believes AI-generated coverage may eventually outperform traditional industry readers and reviewers because the systems are not influenced by studio relationships or personal bias.
