People often ask how I made the leap from studying realist film theory to working as an AI Strategist and Filmmaker. On the surface, the two fields seem worlds apart. But for me, the path has been a direct one. My doctoral dissertation on the film theorist Siegfried Kracauer wasn’t just an academic exercise. It has become the intellectual and philosophical foundation for my approach to artificial intelligence, including my book, AEIOU Ethos: A Framework for Responsible AI (Gutierrez, 2025).

In my dissertation, “Investigating Kracauerian Cinematic Realism…,” I explored a question that has driven my work ever since: How does our engagement with physical reality on screen—which I investigated through both my own film practice and criticism—contribute to what theorist Siegfried Kracauer called the “redemption of physical reality” from the abstractions of modern life (Gutierrez, 2018)? Today, I find myself applying those same core questions to AI, a technology that is fundamentally reshaping our reality. Here’s how the ideas from my past research directly inform my present work.

From Critiquing Modern Abstraction to Grounding AI

My dissertation delved into Siegfried Kracauer’s powerful critique of the “modern condition;” he argued that modern society, with its focus on technical and conceptual systems, creates an “abstraction” that distances us from the tangible, lived experience of the world (Gutierrez, 2018).

Today, I see a profound parallel in the world of artificial intelligence. AI systems are, in many ways, the ultimate expression of abstraction—complex algorithms processing vast datasets in ways far removed from individual human experience. This is why, in my work as an AI Strategist, I constantly push back against this abstracting tendency. It’s my belief that for AI to be truly beneficial, it must be grounded in the concrete realities of the people it affects. My “AEIOU Ethos” is my attempt to build a framework that does just that.

The “Life-world”: My North Star for Human-Centric AI

A concept that became central to my thesis is the phenomenological idea of the Lebenswelt, or “life-world,” which refers to “the surrounding ever-changing world of our everyday experience and perception” (Aitken, 2016, p. 15). In my research, I used my own filmmaking practice to explore the textures and details of this “life-world” (Gutierrez, 2018).

This focus has become my north star in the field of AI. I believe that any technology, especially one as powerful as AI, must be judged by how it integrates into, supports, and enhances our shared “life-world.” A truly “Responsible AI” is one that respects the qualitative nature of our daily lives, rather than reducing human experience to a series of data points.

Why I Call Myself an AI Filmmaker

For my dissertation, I didn’t just write about film theory; I made films as a primary method of investigation (Gutierrez, 2018). My collection of short films, Life-world Series, was designed to interrogate Kracauerian cinematic realism by applying it directly.

This is the very reason I identify as an “AI Filmmaker” today. I am applying the same methodology to this new technology. For me, the best way to understand the nature, aesthetics, and biases of AI is to use it as a creative tool. By actively creating with AI, I can explore its capabilities and limitations from the inside out, just as I once used a camera to understand the world through a cinematic lens.

The Redemptive Potential of Technology

Finally, Kracauer’s theory always had a moral, even redemptive, dimension. His work was animated by the idea that cinema could “redeem physical reality” from abstraction. The goal was to transform the viewer from a passive “agitated witness into a conscious observer” (Kracauer, 1960, p. 58), helping them see the world and their place in it more clearly (Gutierrez, 2018).

I carry this same redemptive hope into my work with AI. I believe technology has the potential to serve humanistic ends, but only if we guide it with intention. My “AEIOU Ethos” is my contribution to this mission—a set of principles designed to cultivate “conscious observers” in the world of AI. It’s about empowering everyone to be critically aware of AI’s impact, ensuring that it enhances our connection to the world, rather than diminishing it.

As I hope I’ve shown, my journey from cinematic realism to responsible AI is a direct one. The critical questions I explored in my dissertation about reality, experience, abstraction, and the role of the creator are the very same questions I am now applying to artificial intelligence (Gutierrez, 2018). My belief is that the path to a truly human-centric AI won’t be found in code alone, but in a deep and ongoing dialogue with the humanities—in understanding our world, our experience, and our enduring need for authentic connection.

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References

Aitken, I. (2016). Introduction. In I. Aitken, The major realist film theorists: A critical anthology (pp. 1-40). Edinburgh University Press.

Gutierrez, J. C. III. (2018). Investigating Kracauerian cinematic realism through film practice and criticism: Life-world series (2017) and selected films of Lino Brocka [Doctoral dissertation, Hong Kong Baptist University]. HKBU Scholars.

Gutierrez, J. C. III. (2025). AEIOU Ethos: A Framework for Responsible AI.

Kracauer, S. (1960). Theory of film: The redemption of physical reality. Oxford University Press.