"Ghost in the Machine": Doc Film on Fascist Eugenic Roots & Dangers of AI Technology

GHOST IN THE MACHINE

Artificial Intelligence and Techno-Fascism: documentary on the extremist historical roots of the AI race directed by VALERIE VEATCH.

Chase Hutchinson of TheWrap states that the film "is a radical, necessary Molotov cocktail of a documentary that's being thrown right into the heart of our nonsense, nightmarish world of overinflated AI hype." (https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/ghost-in-the-machine-review-sundance-elon-musk-ai/)

KQED World:
September 14 at 10:30 PM
September 16 at 5 PM & 10 PM
September 19 at 9 AM

KQED Channel 9: September 15 at 4 AM

KQED Plus: September 15 at 11 PM and September 18 at 4 AM

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9DAv0D7tnY

Documentary website (available to rent on demand): https://notaidoc.com/


The untold origins of artificial intelligence lie not in machines but in power, revealing the fantasies behind the hype that got us here and where we go next.

Ghost in the Machine navigate the rapids of artificial intelligence in this investigative essay documentary that excavates the philosophical, cultural, and political forces driving the global AI boom. It approaches questions like

--What is AI?

--Who is building it?

--What will humans become by exploring how emerging technologies have historically reshaped identity, culture, and global power, while also exposing the current fronts of human exploitation without which AI would not function?

The documentary lends a fresh perspectives on what AI is, how it works, and how people can maintain a sense of agency in a threatening and overbearing tech-driven world.

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GUARDIAN: "Ghost in the Machine review – entertaining AI polemic dives into its dark history in race politics and eugenics" (by Leslie Felperin, June 1, 2026)

Ghost in the Machine examines "the pursuit of artificial intelligence, its dark history in eugenics and highly debatable utility today (despite the stock-market bubble pushing the value of a half-dozen companies towards the stratosphere)."

For the full review article, go here: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/jun/01/ghost-in-the-machine-review-entertaining-ai-polemic-dives-into-its-dark-history-in-race-politics-and-eugenics


SUNDANCE: “Ghost in the Machine” Is a Documentary — but It’s Also an Urgent Technological Horror Story (by Erik Adams, Jan. 26, 2026)

"The scariest movie playing at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival isn’t about cursed audio recordings or a killer demon disguised as your true love; rather it’s a 110-minute essay film about how a handful of guys obsessed with numbers and quantifying human intelligence accidentally (or maybe intentionally) created the blueprints for a water-guzzling, pollutant-spewing, nonconsensual-nude-generating plagiarism device that’s easily manipulated by the worst people in the world and tenuously propping up an alarming percentage of the global economy."

For the full review article, go here: https://www.sundance.org/blogs/2026-sundance-film-festival-ghost-in-the-machine/


THEWRAP: ‘Ghost in the Machine’ Review: Documentary Delivers a Searing Takedown of AI, Elon Musk and Techno-Fascism (by Chase Hutchinson, January 26, 2026)

"Sundance 2026: If there is one documentary with the power to burst the AI bubble, it’s this one"

For the full review article, go here: https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/ghost-in-the-machine-review-sundance-elon-musk-ai/g