Seth Rogen: Writers Using AI Should "Go Do Something Else"
Seth Rogen said writers who rely on AI instead of developing their craft shouldn't be in the profession at all. Speaking at Cannes Film Festival this week while promoting his animated film Tangles, Rogen was direct about his view: "If your instinct is to use AI and not go through that process, you shouldn't be a writer. Because then you're not writing."
Rogen, who won awards this year for writing and co-creating the TV series The Studio, explained his position plainly. "The whole idea of a tool that makes me write less is not appealing to me because I like writing," he said.
The Tangles Team Rejected AI Entirely
Tangles is an animated film based on writer Sarah Leavitt's experience caring for her mother during Alzheimer's. Lauren Miller, Rogen's wife who also lost her mother to the disease, co-produced the project.
The entire production avoided AI. Every frame of the hand-drawn animation carries human effort. Miller explained why this mattered for the writing: "With AI, it's only what's fed into it, and I don't know how you can ever feed in what we went through."
She continued: "Whatever is inside of us that got in there while we were caring for our mothers in this painful way - to me, that translates to the fact that when the line was drawn by a hand, that line was moved through someone who felt feelings instead of just a program."
Online Response Aligns With Rogen's View
Rogen's comments resonated across social media. Users agreed that relying on AI signals a lack of commitment to the craft itself.
One common thread in the discussion: writers claiming AI "streamlines" their work may be overlooking a simpler explanation. "Maybe you're just not that good," one commenter wrote. "Let some people who can create without AI have a shot if you can't."
Others raised concerns about what widespread AI adoption means for future generations. If writers grow up with AI as standard, will they still value human creativity and artistic skill?
For writers evaluating their own relationship with AI tools, understanding AI for Writers and how to use these tools intentionally - rather than as replacements for the writing process - remains a key distinction.
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