Ghost in the Machine – Film Screening and Discussion
The AI Policy Lab invites you to a screening of Ghost in the Machine, a Sundance-selected documentary by Valerie Veatch.
The film explores the untold origins of artificial intelligence, tracing them not only through machines and technical progress but through power, politics and the fantasies behind today’s AI hype. It asks how we got here, what stories have shaped the development of AI and where we might go next.
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with invited speakers, including initial reflections, a moderated conversation and audience Q&A.
Programme
18:30 Doors open
19:00 Film starts
20:30 Film ends and panel discussion begins
The panel will include:
- brief initial reactions from the panel
- moderated questions and discussion
- audience Q&A
The event ends no later than 21:30.
About the film
Ghost in the Machine
2026 • 1h 30m • Documentary
Director: Valerie Veatch
The untold origins of artificial intelligence lie not in machines but in power, revealing the fantasies behind the hype that got us here and where we go next.
What people are saying
“Watching director Valerie Veatch’s deeply distressing Ghost in the Machine made me think of the following phrase: The people hardest to wake up are those who pretend to be asleep. Two Thumbs Up.”
— Zachary Lee, Roger & Ebert
“The film argues that there is no time to waste, and it rises to meet the moment.”
— Chase Hutchinson, The Wrap
“Mind-bending Sundance doc Ghost in the Machine asks the hard questions about AI’s origins and potential misuses.”
— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire
Watch the trailer:
https://kinema.com/films/ghost-in-the-machine-pvxg4p
Moderated By
Petter Ericson
Staff scientist at AI Policy Lab
Panel Discussion with
Virginia Dignum
Professor in Responsible Artificial Intelligence and the Director of the AI Policy Lab
Karin Danielsson
Associate Professor (Docent) of Informatics at the Faculty of Social Sciences, the Director of Humlab at the Faculty of Humanities
Simon Lindgren
Professor of sociology and director of DIGSUM, an interdisciplinary center for research on digital technology and society.