Stream on HBO Max (trailer)
Spoiler warning: Medium
Total score: 9 (Accuracy: 3, Entertainment: 3, Impact: 3)
It is almost impossible to satirize the tech bros these days when even the most far-fetched or sensational stories still hold a nugget of truth. Case in point: see the recent masterclass in trolling between Donald Trump and Elon Musk that has the world agape in anticipation of the next broadstroke. Even a Hollywood screenwriter would be laughed out of the room for proposing a plot line that combines, among other things, rocketships, EVs, fiscal policy, and pedophilia.
Yet this is the real-world context in which viewers will experience Mountainhead, the newest satirical takedown of tech elites that – despite being written and released in just six months – already feels out of date.
Mountainhead is the brainchild of Jesse Armstrong, best known for his work on Succession, a masterful drama series on the death of legacy media. Armstrong said he was inspired to start working on the script for Mountainhead in January 2025 after reading Michael Lewis’ book about crypto-king Sam Bankman-Fried and listening to several tech podcasts, which made him want to explore how tech moguls are able to rationalize and justify their actions, especially the desire to “cut everything else away and rebuild.”
In Armonstrong’s words: “Following premises to their logical conclusions is funny and interesting to me, and I think very appropriate for this world. Because like how do you end up taking away HIV drugs from children who are going to die? How the fuck do you get there? Will you get there because you convince yourself that you’re following some perfectly logical process? That is terrifying.”
But Mountainhead – an intentional reference to Ayn Rand’s 1943 novel, “The Fountainhead” – is less terrifying than it is depressing. Instead of mocking the tech bros for their delusions of grandeur, the film depicts the rise of the tech elite as inevitable in a post-DOGE world. While viewers only get glimpses of what’s happening in the outside world, the clues are telling and all too familiar.
The conflict in Mountainhead centers around a fictional social media platform called Traam that allows for the sharing of highly realistic AI-generated videos (i.e., deep fakes). These videos are predictably used to whip up sectarian tensions in many parts of the world, leading to blood in the streets and fears of an economic collapse. The options presented to Traam founder Venis Parish (played by Corey Michael Smith) are to either shut down the app, which would be akin to accepting blame, or try to buy the fact-checking algorithm developed by Jeff Abredazi (played by Ramy Youssef) that would allow for the accurate labeling of content as either real or fake.
If this seems like a plot plucked out of a 2025 article in Wired or The Atlantic, you’d be right.
AI-generated images are already being used for propaganda and misinformation, inflaming tensions in many parts of the world. A certain tech-friendly President caused a few days of handwringing over AI-generated images showing him as ruler of Gaza and then, a few weeks later, as the next Pope. While these images were clearly fake, it doesn’t take a futurist to wonder what would happen if more effort was made to make them look realistic. AI-generated videos are an even bigger cause for concern because they feel more trustworthy – if an image is worth 1,000 words, then a well-crafted 30-second video clip must be worth billions. Just look at some of the content being generated using Google’s Veo 3 AI video generator!
“Misinformation experts have been warning for years that we will eventually reach a point where it’s impossible for the average person to tell the difference between an AI video and the real thing. With Veo 3, we have officially stepped out of the uncanny valley and into a new era, one where AI videos are a fact of life.”
There’s a growing debate over whether it’s the responsibility of AI companies to police this kind of content, a debate that mirrors an ongoing discussion over whether it’s the responsibility of social media companies like Facebook and TikTok to limit the amount of misinformation posted on their platforms. To their partial credit, these companies have developed community guidelines and hired a small army of fact-checkers (including AI moderators!) to scrub the most violent content. But these efforts are a little like putting a bandaid on a bullet wound – no matter what you do, the blood will keep pouring out.
This obviously has important implications for the sustainability community. We’ve already seen how misinformation on the dangers of climate change can shape voting patterns in the U.S. As resources dwindle and competition for them heats up, it’s not hard to imagine a deep-fake showing evidence of a specific group hoarding more than their fair share.
If the average person isn’t able to distinguish between real and fake evidence, then everything – even scientific facts – becomes open to interpretation. This is already a major problem with the growing attacks on freedom of the press. But a video or image can be much more convincing than an article or social media post. Those with a vested interest in manipulating the truth are well aware of the power of multimedia, and are likely to be the first adopters of any technology that allows them to present their lies as unassailable truths.
Anybody watching Mountainhead is unlikely to be filled with confidence about the world’s readiness for the age of the tech bros. While we probably won’t see a tech CEO asked to take over as President of Argentina any time soon, the techno-optimists are not shy about expressing their belief in their infallibility and their desire for self-governance, especially through their advocacy of “Freedom Cities.”
For Randall Garrett (played by Steve Carell), who serves as a mentor to the other tech bros in Mountainhead, the answer to most questions is obvious. “We are the smartest men in America. We literally have the resources to take over the world.”
Maybe we’ve been asking the wrong questions?
Dmitriy Ioselevich is the founder of 17 communications.
