Jon Erwin Isn’t Hiding from AI: The ‘Young Washington’ Director on How AI Can Save Jobs and Bolster Collaboration
Jon Erwin, the director behind faith-driven projects such as "House of David" and an upcoming "Moses" series, is one of the more candid voices in Hollywood when it comes to AI adoption. Through his production company Innovative Dreams, Erwin has been actively exploring how generative AI tools can fit into a professional filmmaking pipeline - not as a cost-cutting shortcut, but as a means of expanding what smaller productions can accomplish.
In a conversation with IndieWire, Erwin pushed back against the dominant narrative that AI is primarily a threat to creative workers. His argument centers on transparency: being open with collaborators, crew, and audiences about where and how AI is being used. He contends that this honesty is what separates responsible adoption from the kind of quiet replacement that has fueled industry-wide concern. When the technology is used openly and with clear creative intent, he suggests, it can actually reinforce rather than undermine the collaborative relationships that filmmaking depends on.
Erwin also touched on the practical upside for productions working outside the major studio system. Faith-based and independent films often operate with tighter budgets and smaller crews, meaning that AI-assisted tools for pre-visualization, concept art, or post-production work can help those teams punch above their weight. Rather than replacing department heads or skilled crew members, he frames AI as filling gaps that would otherwise go unfilled due to budget constraints - effectively creating opportunities that might not have existed at all.
The interview arrives at a moment when Hollywood unions and studios are still negotiating the boundaries of acceptable AI use, making Erwin's willingness to discuss his workflow publicly somewhat unusual. Whether his optimistic framing holds up at scale remains an open question, but his position adds a useful data point to a debate that has often lacked voices from working directors who are actually using the tools. For those watching how generative AI integrates into production culture, his approach - built around communication and intentionality rather than avoidance - is worth tracking.
