Documentary Explores AI's Troubling Roots in Eugenics and Race Science

The film "Ghost in the Machine" debuted at Sundance, questioning the dubious origins and worker exploitation behind the AI industry's vast spending.

Jan. 28, 2026 at 10:55pm

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A new documentary called "Ghost in the Machine" that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival is pushing back against the dominant narrative around the promise of artificial intelligence. The film traces the deep roots of AI in eugenics, race "science," and worker exploitation, and questions whether the industry's massive spending on data centers and compute power will actually achieve the touted results of general AI.

Why it matters

As companies pour hundreds of billions into the race for AI supremacy, this documentary raises important questions about the troubling origins and ethical concerns surrounding the technology. It highlights how the drive for AI advancement has been intertwined with historical efforts to justify imperialism, racism, and exploitation - issues that the industry has largely glossed over in its hype around the technology's potential.

The details

The documentary is organized around "loosely connected chapters" examining the deep roots, current problems, and uncertain future of AI. It traces how early efforts to measure intelligence and justify British imperialism through eugenics laid the groundwork for modern statistics and machine learning. The film also explores the involvement of major AI organizations in recruiting desperate slum dwellers worldwide to do the grinding input work of training AI systems.

  • The documentary "Ghost in the Machine" debuted at the Sundance Film Festival this week.

The players

Valerie Veatch

The director of the documentary "Ghost in the Machine".

Sam Altman

The CEO of OpenAI, who is featured in the documentary admitting uncertainty about what to do when general artificial intelligence is achieved.

Brad Gerstner

A prominent Silicon Valley backer of AI investment and frequent CNBC contributor, who argued that there is a "compute shortage" for AI.

Francis Galton

The cousin of Charles Darwin who attempted to use Darwin's theories of evolution to justify British imperialism by measuring skulls, laying the foundations for the eugenics movement.

Karl Pearson

A founding statistician who was a protege of Francis Galton and a notorious racist.

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What they’re saying

“This film is pushing back on this narrative on super intelligence: that it's going to be this AI Doomer, god-like entity, or it's going to be this terrible thing that's going to ruin humanity.”

— Valerie Veatch, Director of "Ghost in the Machine"

“If anything we have a compute shortage. Sam Altman has been telling us for two years that we don't have enough compute and now there's a shortage.”

— Brad Gerstner, Prominent Silicon Valley backer of AI investment

What’s next

The documentary's director, Valerie Veatch, is considering using the phrase "Ask different questions" about AI and its development, rather than just "Ask the next question."

The takeaway

As companies pour vast sums into the race for AI supremacy, this documentary serves as an important reminder to question the industry's dominant narratives and examine the troubling historical roots and ethical concerns underlying the technology's development.