Ben Affleck side eyes people who use AI for Companionship

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon recently joined Joe Rogan to discuss their new film, but the conversation took an unexpected turn when the topic of artificial intelligence came up. While much of the discussion during the podcast episode centered on the future of filmmaking, Affleck had some particularly pointed thoughts about people who use AI for companionship.

When Rogan asked about AI’s impact on the film industry, Affleck dove deep into what he sees as the technology’s real capabilities and limitations. “If you try to get ChatGPT or Claude or Gemini to write you something, it’s really sh**ty,” Affleck said bluntly. “And it’s sh**ty because by its nature, it goes to the mean, to the average. And it’s not reliable. I just can’t even stand to see what it writes.”

The actors explained that while AI can be useful as a research tool for writers, it fundamentally lacks the human experience necessary to create meaningful art. He illustrated this point by referencing Dwayne Johnson’s performance in ‘The Smashing Machine,’ where Johnson drew on traumatic memories of his father’s issues and his mother’s cancer diagnosis to create a devastating scene.

“That is a completely human That is an that is an artist. That’s a piece of art, right? That comes out of a lived human experience,” Damon emphasized. “No f**king thing [AI] could ever do that.”

But it was Affleck’s commentary on AI companionship that revealed his deeper concerns about where the technology is heading. Discussing the economics and development of AI, he noted something telling: “The vast majority of people who use AI are using it to like, as like companion bots to chat with at night and stuff. There’s no work, there’s no productivity, there’s no value to it.”

His tone made clear what he thought of this application. “I would argue there’s also not a lot of social value to getting people to like focus on an AI friend who’s telling you that you’re great and listening to everything you say and being sycophantic,” he continued.

The side-eye wasn’t just implied in Affleck’s words, but in his entire argument about what AI represents versus what humans need. Throughout the conversation, he kept returning to the importance of genuine human connection and experience, whether in filmmaking or in life. He discussed how real empathy comes from collaborative human experiences and how the best art emerges from lived trauma, joy, and complexity.