The panel titled "Rekindling the Machine: Documentary in the Age of AI" took place during the CPH:Conference portion of the 23rd CPH:DOX festival in Copenhagen. Moderated by artist and cultural strategist Kamal Sinclair, the conversation gathered people who study the darker effects of technology and documentary makers who want the public to wake up.

When an algorithm becomes a central character

Director Marc Silver presented his film Molly vs the Machines, which follows a father trying to understand how his 14-year-old daughter, Molly, ended her life. The film’s synopsis explains that Molly was an ordinary teenager who one night came home, did homework, said goodnight, and then hours later took her own life. The film suggests the algorithms on her phone played a role.

Silver summed up a core worry about modern AI: "It has this god-like omniscience, while we know nothing about it." He also argued that technology’s so-called efficiency mattered in Molly’s case because it "gave Molly what she wanted and pushed her towards her death." The festival called the movie emotionally powerful and legally pointed, saying it lands like a digital landmine at a time when scrutiny of Big Tech is intense.

Diplomacy, regulation, and real-world power

Anne Marie Engtoft Meldgaard, Denmark’s tech ambassador and the driving force behind Techplomacy, framed AI debates in geopolitical and security terms. She warned that AI and related technologies can produce "unintended consequences" and urged a clearer public discussion about risks. "We need to calibrate an understanding and have a risk discussion," she said.

Meldgaard also connected tech development to global power dynamics. In her words, "Ultimately, this is about military might," pointing to the geopolitical competition between the United States and China. She added a blunt assessment of the moment: "We are living in an age of predators." As a practical note for life in a 24/7 digital environment, she urged finding "meaningful analogue alternatives."

Meldgaard appears in Susanne Kovacs' documentary Techplomacy, which premiered at CPH:DOX. The film follows her role as a young Danish tech ambassador pushing for regulation, accountability, and digital rights while navigating a complex landscape of global tech companies and political interests.

Other voices on the panel

  • Julia Kloiber, co-founder of SUPERRR, emphasized that "AI is not inevitable" and argued for alternative stories and approaches to technology.
  • Anna Engelhardt, a video artist who explores the afterlives of material violence in her work, reinforced the need to question current technological paths and their social effects.

The discussion combined documentary storytelling with policy concerns. Filmmakers presented real-life consequences and diplomats and activists pushed the conversation toward regulation, accountability, and thoughtful public debate. The clear throughline was that technology is not just a set of tools but a set of choices that shape lives, geopolitics, and safety.

For anyone tired of tech optimism without guardrails, the panel was a reminder: we need risk conversations, clearer rules, and yes, some real-world alternatives that do not run on an algorithm every time we inhale or scroll.