Is A.I. going to take over storytelling in 2026?

If you thought the answer to the title prompt should have been yes or possibly, then you’re not alone.

When OpenAI thought they’d hit a homerun with Sora, their power-packed video generator, there were doomsayers right here in Quinte West who were literally consoling me on the impending sunset of my career.

For a host of reasons, both practical and technical, Sora has already seen the sharp end of the metaphorical axe and the company is retreating from text-to-video generation.

Why wasn’t hyper-realistic video-on-demand enough to boot storytelling filmmakers out of work? Maybe it’s this: Good stories require actual people living real lives. There is absolutely nothing that holds our attention more than a good story (with the exception of a threat to our life) so the most compelling media is still human-centric. Even when we’re portraying fictional narratives set in “…a galaxy far, far away” we are really just dressing up our very earth-bound stories in make-believe clothing.

In less time than it takes to coax some passable clickbait from the platform formerly known as Sora, we can set up and explore exciting and engaging scenarios with actual life-and-death struggles and genuine heroes. It’s happening all, over all the time – in real life (IRL as the kids like to say).

Here’s an example of a one-and-done event that united a wide range of volunteers both young and old(er). This film didn’t consume more than a weekend from event to delivery. It had a crew of one and no scripted comments whatsoever. It used competent interviewing, filming and audio skills to capture the commendable efforts of a partnership that will feed over 12,000 people who are in need. And it’s now being used to galvanize more contributions of cash and time through storytelling.

It’s not Star Wars, but in some ways and to many people, it’ll make a bigger impact.