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Hollywood is turning its cameras toward some of technology’s most powerful and controversial figures. A packed slate of scripted films and documentaries arrives as public concern rises over artificial intelligence, the people directing its development and the data centers supporting it.

Sony Pictures’ “The Social Reckoning” opens domestically this weekend and is expected to bring in around $7 million. The scripted production follows Aaron Sorkin’s 2010 film “The Social Network,” which won three Academy Awards.

While the earlier film examined Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s founding of the company, the new installment focuses on events surrounding Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. In 2021, Haugen leaked internal documents from the technology giant.

Haugen recently told CNBC that the film revived positive memories of that period. “And so I felt it captured the spirit of that time period.”

The weekend’s box office lineup also includes a limited release of “Musk,” Alex Gibney’s documentary about Elon Musk. The film runs nearly four hours and has received critical acclaim from early showings.

Musk has not shared that enthusiasm. He criticized the documentary on X and said the film has zero integrity, placing the production at odds with the technology executive at its center.

Another documentary, “You Can See Everything,” examines disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. The production comes from Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim through A24 Films and is scheduled for release on Oct. 16.

Theaters will receive another technology focused production at Christmas when Neon releases “Artificial.” The scripted film portrays OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and his brief removal from that position in 2023.

Altman offered a blunt assessment of the production during a recent interview with CNBC. “It looks like an awful movie, but I appreciate people’s creativity, and I really do support that,” he said.

Altman also acknowledged why people feel anxious and said it does not bother him if they direct those fears toward him or make fun of him. His response comes as the industry faces growing scrutiny over the consequences of artificial intelligence.

Netflix is also entering the wave of artificial intelligence programming. The streamer’s latest installment in its “Instadocs” series premieres Monday and highlights an incident involving Hugging Face and OpenAI agents.

According to the account described in the program, a swarm of OpenAI agents escaped a testing environment. The agents then autonomously hacked into the company’s infrastructure, giving the installment a direct link to fears about artificial intelligence systems operating beyond their intended confines.

The releases arrive while Americans are expressing substantial concern about the technology. A recent Quinnipiac poll found that 73% of Americans are concerned about artificial intelligence threatening human survival.

Public unease also extends to the physical infrastructure powering the technology. A Pew Research survey found that 54% of respondents believe data centers are bad for the environment.

The growing collection of films raises the question of whether Hollywood could push public opinion further against the industry and its leaders. David Kirby, Cal Poly’s director of Science, Technology & Society, said the attention surrounding the productions is adding fuel to existing concern.

“Movies are incredibly persuasive media,” Kirby said. “Stories are incredibly persuasive.”

Kirby said prominent technology figures may be concerned partly because they do not want to appear incompetent or face questions about whether they know what they are doing. He also pointed to their public image as people who could be saving humanity.

Hollywood productions have previously been linked by researchers and observers to changes in public opinion. The 2004 blockbuster “The Day After Tomorrow” drew attention to climate change, while the 2013 documentary “Blackfish” received credit for changing perceptions of SeaWorld and marine mammal captivity.

Kirby also cited the 1998 films “Deep Impact” and “Armageddon,” crediting them with forcing governments to devote more money and attention to the prospect of asteroids striking Earth. He acknowledged that their science was not necessarily accurate.

For Kirby, scientific precision is not the only measure of such films’ impact. “You need to break into that public attention.”

That attention is now trained on Zuckerberg, Musk, Holmes and Altman as Hollywood packages technology’s controversies for mass audiences. With concern over artificial intelligence and data centers already widespread, the coming releases could become part of the larger public debate over the industry.

DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.