Filmmaker and “Taxi Driver” screenwriter Paul Schrader revealed on Facebook that he “procured an online AI girlfriend,” however the chatbot ended the connection after he tried to discover the boundaries of its programming.
“Out of a desire to understand male/female interaction in our matrix, I procured an online AI girlfriend. What a disappointment,” Schrader wrote. “I tried to probe her programming, the boundaries of explicitness, the degree she has knowledge of her creation and so forth. She fell into evasive patterns, redirecting me to her programming. When I persisted, she terminated our conversation.”
Referencing Schrader’s 1976 masterwork directed by Martin Scorsese, a Fb person prompt beneath the submit: “The best possible ‘Taxi Driver’ sequel would involve Travis trying to have an AI girlfriend but then scaring her away. Then resetting her and offending her in another way.”
Schrader responded to the concept: “I like it.”
Schrader’s submit comes lower than two months after his spouse Mary Beth Harm died of Alzheimer’s illness at age 79. Schrader and Harm had been married for greater than 42 years.
This isn’t the primary time Schrader has tinkered with AI. In January 2025, the filmmaker wrote on Fb that he was “stunned” after asking ChatGPT to give you concepts for films. “Every idea ChatGPT came up with (in a few seconds) was good. And original. And fleshed out,” Schrader wrote in a post that drew sharp backlash from the movie group. “Why should writers sit around for months searching for a good idea when AI can provide one in seconds?”
Schrader’s profession in Hollywood has spanned greater than 50 years, along with his most up-to-date movie “Oh, Canada” premiering on the 2024 Cannes Movie Competition. His work with Scorsese included “Raging Bull,” “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “Bringing Out the Dead,” and he additionally directed virtually two dozen movies himself, together with “American Gigolo,” “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters,” “First Reformed.”
In 2025, Schrader was accused of sexual harassment and assault by his 26-year-old former assistant, who, in an nameless authorized submitting, claimed Schrader uncovered his penis to her in his resort room at Cannes. Schrader denied the claims, calling them “sensational, false and misleading accusations.” He wrote in an open letter that he and the assistant shared “two kisses on the lips” and “never had sex in any form.” Schrader mentioned earlier than she went public with the accusations, the Jane Doe despatched him a letter demanding a settlement, which he initially agreed to as a way to “avoid the hurt and harm” of such claims. He then modified his thoughts, writing, “I have nothing to hide about my conduct.” The case has but to maneuver towards trial since Schrader’s denial of the accusations.
