Joseph Gordon-Levitt Has Some Things to Say About A.I.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has spent much of his life telling stories about what it means to be human. Now the actor and filmmaker is grappling with a technology that could change how we communicate, cooperate and think: artificial intelligence. Mr. Gordon-Levitt believes storytelling is humanity’s defining technology. As the United Nations’ global advocate of human-centric digital governance, he wants to help people understand what’s at stake as A.I. grows more powerful — and why its future demands human judgment and global cooperation. In the video above, Mr. Gordon-Levitt takes Times Opinion to the U.N. General Assembly. Along the way, he answers five questions about A.I., from the risks that worry him most to whether governments can keep up with Silicon Valley.