Emma Thompson hits out at AI involvement in writing process and tells it to “f**k off”

Emma Thompson has made her feelings on artificial intelligence clear.

The Academy Award-winning actor and writer shared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that the technology was a major distraction while she was trying to write.

Thompson expressed strong dislike for AI, explaining, “I can’t even start to describe how I feel.” She prefers writing by hand with a traditional pen and paper, believing it helps her think because of the physical connection between her brain and her hand.

She explained that writing is very important to her. After she finishes something, she types it into a Word document. Lately, Word keeps offering to rewrite her work for her.

I often find myself getting incredibly frustrated and reacting with something like, ‘Please don’t rewrite my work, just leave it alone!’ It’s really irritating when people do that.

So, the host playfully told Thompson to maybe… show her computer the Oscar she snagged back in ’95 for ‘Sense and Sensibility.’ It was a funny little moment, suggesting even technology should recognize her talent!

“I don’t think that it would care,” Thompson told Colbert.

I heard the most incredible story from an actress I’ve been watching in ‘Down Cemetery Road’ recently. She was telling me about writing the screenplay for ‘Sense and Sensibility,’ and get this – her computer completely scrambled the entire script, turning all the words into hieroglyphs! Can you imagine? It’s just one of those things that makes you laugh and wonder how things even happen sometimes.

Thompson explained she was so worried she rushed to Stephen Fry’s house still in her dressing gown. He then spent eight hours helping her piece her script back together.

Thompson joins other Hollywood creatives, like Guillermo del Toro, in voicing concerns about AI in filmmaking. Del Toro recently stated he’d prefer to stop working altogether than use the technology.

He recently shared with NPR that when someone asked him about his views on artificial intelligence, his response was blunt: ‘I’d rather die.’

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2025-10-29 14:41