Martin Scorsese says streaming algorithms are ruining audiences

Martin Scorsese might have just directed The Irishman for Netflix, but that doesn’t mean that he agrees with everything the streaming site has done for the film industry and audiences.

During a recent interview at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Scorsese even went as far as to call the algorithm that sites like Netflix use to entice viewers “dangerous.”

“I’m concerned about pictures being suggested by algorithms,” Scorsese declared, according to Vanity Fair, before admitting that he is just as susceptible to watching the first film that’s recommended to him by the streaming services.

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“I know, I get involved with them too. The algorithms, they tell you all these things: ‘If you like that, you might enjoy this…’ And ‘If you don’t enjoy this right away, there’s something else. And something else after that.’”

“The algorithm is dangerous because it takes away from your creative viewing. I think you have to make up your own mind about creative viewing.”

Scorsese believes that this is “tilting the scales away from that creative viewing experience, and away from movies as an art form.”

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However, despite these concerns, the Oscar-winning director still made sure to insists that it is “remarkable that so many movies are being made today,” especially because that are all “immediately accessible,” too.

“Ultimately, it’s remarkable that so many movies are being made today, and it’s like a dream we had 50 years ago. You can see them, almost immediately accessible, just like that,” he said. “In the old days you’d have to go from theatre to theatre. You have to wait in line, get a seat. I’m short and the people in front of me were tall. I couldn’t see anything!”