Comedian Bill Burr Slams Big Tech, Calls Them 'Reptiles'

Comedian and actor Bill Burr recently sat down with Collider's Steve Weintraub to discuss his latest film, "The Social Reckoning," a follow-up to Aaron Sorkin's acclaimed "The Social Network." In the interview, Burr not only shared insights into his experience working with Sorkin but also voiced strong opinions on the critical issues of Big Tech accountability, misinformation, and the prioritization of profit over public safety.

Burr, who joins an ensemble cast including Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg, Mikey Madison as whistleblower Frances Haugen, and Jeremy Allen White as reporter Jeff Horwitz, highlights the film's urgent message. "The Social Reckoning" depicts Facebook engineer Frances Haugen secretly meeting with a Wall Street Journal reporter to expose the company's negligence in addressing the dangers of its own algorithm. Burr passionately calls for greater accountability from Big Tech leaders like Zuckerberg, stating, “They need to be stopped or regulated or something.”

Reflecting on his experience working with writer-director Aaron Sorkin, Burr initially found it "hilarious" that Sorkin wanted to pitch the movie to him, admitting he would "dust around a room with no lines just to be in a movie" with the legend. He describes Sorkin as a "super humble," "really passionate," and "awesome guy." Dispelling rumors of Sorkin being a "punctuation tyrant," Burr likened the creative process to "doing a play." He explained that Sorkin encouraged actors to listen and react naturally, allowing for collaborative adjustments rather than strict adherence to every comma. Burr found the environment to be creatively open, with Sorkin even embracing improvisational additions, saying, “No, no, I like that. I like that. Keep that.”

Beyond the filmmaking process, Burr views "The Social Reckoning" as an "incredibly important" film due to its relevance to contemporary issues. He expressed deep concern about technology companies prioritizing profits above all else, even when their platforms cause harm. "If you had a business that was causing kids, through cyberbullying, to kill themselves, I mean, okay, emergency brake. Shut the engine off. What are we doing here?" he questioned, condemning the corporate speak used to avoid dips in quarterly profits. Burr labeled such individuals as "reptiles" and insisted on the necessity of regulation.

He further criticized the internet's perceived immunity from libel and slander laws, arguing that lying and misleading people, especially one's own countrymen, should not be permissible. Drawing a parallel to food safety, Burr stated, "If you were to poison some food and feed it to people, you or I, we would be in jail. We would be a terrorist. These people pay a fine?" He lamented the current state of journalism, which he believes has been overtaken by partisan op-ed pieces, making it difficult to discern truth. Burr admitted to struggling with phone addiction and distinguishing truth from falsehood in the digital age, particularly with the rise of artificial intelligence.

Burr articulated his concerns about AI, calling its proliferation "worse and worse" and "completely unnecessary." He sees AI primarily as a tool driven by greed, designed to reduce human employment and empower "noncreative people" without compensation. He warned that as AI technology advances, it becomes increasingly challenging to differentiate what is real from what is fake, further exacerbating the problem of misinformation. "The Social Reckoning" is set to open in theaters on October 9, aiming to shed light on these critical societal challenges.