Why are respected film-makers suddenly embracing AI?

Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh has publicly stated his interest in using generative AI (AI systems that create new images or content from text descriptions) in his films, including for surreal dream sequences in a John Lennon documentary and for a Spanish-American War movie. Soderbergh's openness to AI in filmmaking stands out because many respected artists have actively rejected the technology, and his interest comes while his film The Christophers ironically explores themes of artistic authorship and what it means to create.