A growing number of financial advisors fear that weaponized AI in the wrong hands could result in chaotic consequences, according to results from the 2026 AI Screen Test run by Natixis Investment Managers.
The survey asked advisors across the globe to gauge which AI-themed movie among four choices — "Moneyball," "WALL-E," "WarGames" and "The Terminator" — best reflects how investors view the impact and challenges AI presents, according to the report.
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The test results share how advisors experience AI, said Dave Goodsell, executive director of the Natixis Center for Investor Insight in an interview.
Natixis has conducted the AI Screen Test since 2024 and has offered the same titles each time. It is part of a larger survey conducted by CoreData between March and May 2026, which polled 2,950 respondents from 23 countries across North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe and Asia. In addition to the experience, the test aims to measure "people's genuine sentiment in a way that is relatable and understandable," said Goodsell.
By measuring "the kind of emotions we're seeing around AI, most have moved toward the idea they're going to use it as an
"WarGames," a 1983 movie starring Matthew Broderick, saw the biggest increase in sentiment for 2026. In it, unintended consequences through the lens of technology take center stage after a teenage hacker mistakenly gains access to nuclear weapons and engages them. The survey found that 24% of respondents feared an AI hack could lead to turmoil, whether economic, social, or geopolitical. This is up from 20% in 2025.
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From a global perspective, 34% of respondents in Italy and collectively, 33% in Canada, Hong Kong, and Japan, reported being more concerned that a bad actor could weaponize AI and create chaos.
"The one thing I think about this factor is that something's going to go wrong," he said. "There's a sense the other shoe will fall. In this case, we're saying maybe a bad actor uses AI to override codes."
This year, 59% said "Moneyball" best represented their sentiments about AI, down from 62% in 2025. The biographical sports drama starring Brad Pitt features a savvy baseball executive in need of a strategy to beat better-funded clubs. To accomplish this feat, Pitt's character deploys computer-generated analysis as part of his arsenal.
The representation of technology in "Moneyball," as it pertains to respondents, is that it is
DreamWorks' "WALL-E," the story of a robot that helps save humanity from its own overreliance on technology, came in at 11%, the same as in 2025. These identical results show that overall sentiment is low and stagnant regarding the belief that the technology could one day become empathetic or more of a caregiver.
Coming in at 6% in both 2025 and 2026 is "The Terminator," in which technology turns on humans with the intent to destroy. "'Terminator' is going to kill us all," said Goodsell. "That's in the back of a lot of people's minds."
