Backrooms director Kane Parsons speaks out against AI in Hollywood films

• Parsons said he would erase generative AI forever if he could
• The director sees AI as a symptom of cultural and economic rot
• He wants to explore AI iconography in future projects as artistic subject matter

At just 20 years old, Kane Parsons has already made history with a record-breaking A24 directorial debut — and he has a clear-eyed view of where he stands on one of the industry's most contentious debates.

Parsons dismisses AI as a creative tool

The Backrooms director has been candid about his opposition to generative AI, warning of the very real damage it is already inflicting across Hollywood and wider creative industries.

"I think I'm in the same boat as most well-adjusted people," Parsons told The Australian. "If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would. Creatively, I get no enjoyment from using those tools. It defeats the purpose entirely for me."

Though he acknowledged that AI assistance might have some utility in more repetitive or laborious VFX work, Parsons stressed that a broader, balanced discussion remains elusive: "right now it's difficult to discuss objectively because there's so much at stake and so many genuinely harmful consequences already happening."

AI as artistic subject, not creative instrument

Despite his firm rejection of AI as a filmmaking tool, Parsons revealed that he is drawn to the idea of examining it through his work — not by embracing it, but by interrogating what it represents.

"What interests me more is interrogating it artistically," he explained. "We already live in a world where you walk outside and there are billboards and signs that are obvious AI slop. That's become part of our visual reality.

"To me, generative AI feels less like innovation than a symptom of a broader cultural and economic rot.

"I'm interested in using that iconography in art – not using AI to make the art itself, but examining what it represents. I definitely want to explore it further in future projects," added Parsons.

From a crummy laptop to A24

Parsons spoke to Deadline via Zoom from the editing suite, putting the finishing touches on Backrooms and reflecting on the self-taught journey that brought him to this point.

He and his VFX team relied on Blender — the same free CGI software he first picked up on "a fairly crummy laptop" during middle school, aided by YouTube tutorials and other software he obtained "through means that I won't say out loud" — to realise his web series at the age of 16.

Far from discouraging others, Parsons was bullish about what is achievable without expensive equipment or formal training.

"It's feasible, and even on a pretty shitty machine, you can still get the ball rolling," he insisted, offering a message of encouragement to fellow creatives eager to bring their own ideas to life.