Last week, Reese Witherspoon went viral (in the wrong way) for declaring “the AI revolution has begun” and suggesting that women should learn about the technology. “The jobs women hold are 3x more likely to be automated by AI, yet women are using AI at a rate 25% lower than men on average,” the “Morning Show” star wrote on Instagram. “We don’t want to be left behind.”
The post attracted a fair amount of backlash, with people pointing out the problems associated with data centers and intellectual property, and accusing Witherspoon of being paid by AI companies to promote generative tools.
“Well, I guess my AI post got people talking,” Witherspoon wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday. “To be clear, no one is paying me to talk about this. I’m just a curious human. My kids are learning about AI tools, I know a lot of founders who are vibe coding, and I hear about people using AI in EVERY sector of business.”
She continued, “But I want to acknowledge people’s concerns, they are valid. I’m aware of the impact this could have on jobs across so many industries. I understand environmental concerns. I care deeply about local communities. And I have concerns about impending AGI. I don’t believe computers should replace humanity. I’m planning on learning as much as possible so that I’m educated about this technological revolution. If you want to learn with me, great, let’s do this! If you don’t, that’s okay too.”
Witherspoon has long been talking about artificial intelligence and encouraging her followers to become familiar with the technology, which is rapidly upending industries from Hollywood to tech.
“It’s so, so important that women are involved in AI because it will be the future of filmmaking,” Witherspoon told Glamour in September. “And you can be sad and lament it all you want, but the change is here. It will never be a lack of creativity and ingenuity and actual physical manual building of things. It might diminish, but it’s always going to be the highest importance in art and in expression of self.”
She told the magazine that she uses AI Assistant as well as search tools like Perplexity and the AI shopping agent Vetted AI.
Witherspoon isn’t the only A-list actress talking about the AI revolution. Last week, Sandra Bullock said at the CNBC Changemakers Summit that AI is “here” and “we have to understand it.”
“We have to lean into it,” Bullock said. “We have to use it in a really constructive and creative way, make it our friend rather than — I mean, we have to be incredibly cautious and aware of it because there are people who will use it for evil and not good. But I do feel that there’s a place for it… It’s here. We have to just be friends in some dark way.”
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