The conversations surrounding AI are ubiquitous and varied, ranging from the end of world to its ultimate salvation and everything in between. “The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist” seeks to cover all bases and make sense of the universal, existential anxiety we’re all feeling surrounding the technological unknown. What unfolds is a documentary as chaotic as the conversation themselves, casting a wide net and capturing a new perspective that is as urgent as it is funny. Daniel Roher approaches his quest of understand with complete abandon, wrestling with his own personal anxieties about fatherhood and living, particularly in a world surrounded by something he genuinely doesn’t understand but can’t escape.
“The AI Doc” is better for this, Roher’s light touch and inquisitive mindset allowing him to have a conversation with the audience as much as he interviews his subject. It is tried and true research, and he leaves no stone unturned as he seeks answers. Every time you reach a point in the doc with a “Ok, but what about…” Roher is one step ahead of you and launches “The AI Doc” into a new exploration of that very question. He is inside your head at all times because he IS us, and we enter into a collective pursuit of wisdom and center as together we look for answers to settle our restless minds. You name it, “The AI Doc” has a section for it. The doom and gloom experts who explain in terrifying detail the cost of this technology and the world ending implications it has. The techno kiss asses who truly believe AI is the solution to all of our problems and see a utopia in our near future. Yes, even some of the tech billionaire CEOs make an appearance and chat with Roher about their “mission” and how they view their work and the implications of what they’e doing to us all whether we want them to or.
It is purposefully messy and kind of chaotic because there is simply no way to journey into uncharted territory with a road map. “The AI Doc” is as infuriating as it is comforting, approaching its topics and subjects with authenticity and humanity as Roher searches for our place in a world that is running away from us. The MVP is wife and filmmaker Caroline Lindy (“Your Monster“) who keeps him grounded after each spiral during his 3 year inquest. Roher uses her as a narrator to start, but she gives more validity to the age old adage that behind every great man is a greater woman. Pregnant through much of the film – most of Daniel’s footage edited to look like he did this in a much shorter time – she injects much needed reason every time he crashes out from new information he learns or new ideas he tries to include. There’s a genuinely hilarious moment surrounding the ending and her pushback that helps birth the right one, and it’s all because of Lindy.
I am pretty against AI in almost all avenues. As a creative, I feel compelled to stand my ground against the great replacement of humanity in the fight of man vs machine. But as “The AI Doc” points out, AI is here and is here to stay. It has infiltrated every aspect of our lives regardless of our stance on it, and chances are if you have been on the internet at all in any capacity, you’ve interacted with AI. It’s terrifying to think about, but Roher uses “The AI Doc” to arrive at a comforting conclusion. A rallying cry to humanity, a warning, and some peace of mind with the idea that we, humanity, CAN change things. Millions of people making millions of small changes can lead to major transformation, and the world we want to see comes from the changes we want to make. His resonating final message is simple but effective: we can only control what we can control.
“The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist” is one of the best documentaries at Sundance and an absolute must see for everyone. It timely, urgent, and funny all in equal measure and is impossible to come away from without some kind of impact. Films about AI have seldom been this robust and this digestible, smartly balanced with personal vision and heartfelt quandary and yes, humor. Roher is the kind of guy you want to get a beer and talk about the end of the world with, and that helps magnify the information in “The AI Doc” to stick with you in both expected and unexpected ways.
I don’t know what changes I’m going to make or if anything about how I feel about AI has changed, but I do feel changed having watched “The AI Doc,” and I think I am changed fo the better and maybe, just maybe I too became an Apocaloptimist. And that my friends, is a sign of excellent filmmaking.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
“The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist” had its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27th, 2026.
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