By now, eagle-eyed Stranger Things fans who watched the special documentary on Netflix noticed what appeared to be a ChatGPT tab up during the writing of the final season. Given the criticism of the writing in the final season, many began to speculate that the Duffer Brothers might have used the AI service to write the ending.
In an attempt to explain the appearance of the tab and dissuade fans of the idea that the final scripts were written by AI, the documentary filmmaker seemingly only made everything worse.
Stranger Things‘ ChatGPT Explanation
If you look very closely during the documentary on the final Stranger Things chapter, you might see what appears to be a ChatGPT logo on one of the Duffer Brothers’ open tabs. After the season was heavily criticized for poor writing and plot holes, this prompted the theory that it was AI-written.
When asked by The Hollywood Reporter, the doc’s creator, Martina Radwan, said, “I mean, are we even sure they had ChatGPT open?” The interviewer admitted that they weren’t, but the internet has certainly run with this theory, prompting an explanation.
“Well, there’s a lot of chatter where [social media users] are like, ‘We don’t really know, but we’re assuming.’ But to me it’s like, doesn’t everybody have it open, to just do quick research?” Radwan doubled down. The interviewer admitted that they do, but it bears mentioning that using AI to do research is foolish, lazy, and dangerous.
Radwan said again, “Nobody has actually proved that it was open. That’s like having your iPhone next to your computer while you’re writing a story. We just use these tools … while multitasking. So there’s a lot going on all the time, every time. What I find heartbreaking is everybody loves the show, and suddenly we need to pick it apart.”
When pressed if there was an “unethical” use of AI, Radwan said firmly, “No, of course not. I witnessed creative exchanges. I witnessed conversation. People think “writers room” means people are sitting there writing. No, it’s a creative exchange. It’s story development. And, of course, you go places in your creative mind and then you come back [to the script]. I think being in the writers room is such a privilege and such a gift to be able to witness that.”
While this does seemingly put a rest to the idea that ChatGPT made the Stranger Things finale, it doesn’t help much beyond that. If the Duffers did have the AI open for research, which they may or may not have even done (even Radwan can’t quite say definitively that there was no AI used for research here), that’s not good, either.
It suggests a few things. First, that the Duffers are too lazy to do their own research. It speaks to a lack of care for the final product if they were trusting key details to an AI engine. Second, it adds to the worrying level of gen-AI in entertainment.
AI might not have written the script, but the research points used for the script were influenced by AI, at least in theory. That is concerning, not to mention the fact that that usage is ruining the environment and stripping people of their humanity.
Conclusion
The Stranger Things finale, and the wider fifth chapter, was a mixed bag. There were some good things and some bad things, and it ultimately ended on a decent note. It doesn’t scream AI-written script, but the fact that there’s a concern about using it at all in the creative process is highly alarming. Unfortunately, the explanation didn’t help one bit.
