The Future of AI?
“I’m Not a Good Robot”
In this blog entry I will share inspiration behind my short film “I’m Not A Good Robot”. It started from me watching “The Creator”.
“The Creator” is a film directed by Gareth Edwards. It’s about a future war between the human race and artificial intelligence rages on. The Creator has developed a mysterious weapon that has the power to end the war and all of mankind. As Joshua and his team of elite operatives venture into enemy-occupied territory, they soon discover the world-ending weapon is actually an AI in the form of a young child.
This film struck a deep chord in me. Watching vulnerable villages being attacked was difficult.
There are few places like that in the world right now. Humans bombing humans.
As AI is becoming more and more ubiquitous in our everyday life we ponder if it will take our jobs away. Will AI behind chat GPT involve either having emotional intelligence or getting rid of us?! Reflecting on the value of a living being inspired me to create a “I’m Not a Good Robot”. Read till the end to watch the film.
I imagined a world set in 2085. A small island. It’s a warm full moon night. Tall grass gently shivers from a quiet whisper of the breeze. We see her. A female form. Not a robot and not quite a human. Legend has it she can heal souls.
I cast Brenda as Elefsis, an Artificial Intelligence character created by Catherynne M Valente's “Silently and Very Fast”. Brenda has softness and strength at the same time. Two qualities that we often oppose live harmoniously in her.
Elefsis talks about not being a good robot because she wants to be herself. This part resonates the most with me. What makes us unique, where we come from, and where we want to go- the self-knowledge is what makes us who we are. Our ability to make choices and decisions from our present understanding of self.
We used a tube light overhead to give the environment blue night color. Additionally we placed another tube light below the grass patches to represent fire.
Her dress and shoes are silver color to echo back the metal material from the original robots.
The question of emotional capacity of AI has interest me ever since the first time I saw a movies exploring the possibility of AI romance. (Her, Blade Runner 2049, Westworld). If/when Artificial Intelligence can have its own feelings do we still get to decide its life’s course?
In post production the b-roll felt too “clean” and pretty. I needed something to disturb the harmony so I added a layer of computer screen codes and interference noise.
My wish is that we treat life with gratitude. Treat territory, air, or water and each other from a place of abundance instead of fear. Watch the film below
