Vince Gilligan slams AI explains why new series Pluribus was made by humans

Vince Gilligan, the acclaimed creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, is making headlines once again—this time for his bold stance on artificial intelligence. In a recent interview with Variety, Gilligan explained the reasoning behind a line that appears in the end credits of his new Apple TV+ series Pluribus, which reads, “This show was made by humans.”

The message, Gilligan said, was a deliberate statement against the growing use of AI in film and television. Despite Apple’s own heavy investment in artificial intelligence, Gilligan did not hold back his criticism. “I hate AI,” he said bluntly. “AI is the world’s most expensive and energy-intensive plagiarism machine. It’s basically a bunch of centibillionaires trying to become trillionaires by selling vapor.”

His comments come amid ongoing debate within Hollywood over AI’s expanding presence in creative industries. From AI-generated scripts to digital actors and fully AI-animated projects, the technology’s adoption has sparked widespread concern about artistic authenticity and the potential displacement of human creators. Gilligan’s message in Pluribus reinforces his belief that storytelling should remain an inherently human endeavor.

The first episode of Pluribus premiered this week to strong acclaim, debuting with a 100% “Certified Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Starring Rhea Seehorn, the series has already drawn praise for its sharp writing and emotional depth—qualities Gilligan insists AI cannot replicate. He humorously illustrated his point by saying, “My toaster oven isn’t suddenly Thomas Keller because it heats up a delicious pizza for me.”

Still, Gilligan did acknowledge a theoretical scenario in which AI could evolve into something sentient, suggesting that if machines ever developed true consciousness, humanity would face new ethical dilemmas about exploiting them for creative labor.

For now, however, Gilligan is adamant: Pluribus—and all his future projects—will remain proudly “made by humans.”