I’m here wherever you need it
Logline:
When intelligence rises, isolation strikes.
Synopsis:
I’m here wherever you need it is a film essay that wants to investigate the relationship between the use of AI and alienation in society by showing the symbolic story of a girl (Alicia) who starts chatting with an AI and bonds with it as a friend. The more she talks to the AI, the more Alicia loses track of the reality and creates an imaginary world for her and her AI friend. Soon the magic of this illusion starts to crumble, revealing the condition of isolation and alienation she and many others have put themselves in by rejecting human contact. As a frame of the story, a series of unrelated poetic shots showing the psychological condition of loneliness and isolation are presented with a series of facts about AI in the layout of everyday-use AI (such as google maps, Siri etc..).
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Statement :
“We reject human contacts but crave for new types of digital connections.”
My statement refers to how the digital world affects the real world and back: we as humans have created technologies to help us being more and more independent from human contacts in our lives (shopping online, finding directions on google maps etc..), especially now with AI technology, which is slowly going to replace human interventions in many basic skills. However this rejection of basic human contact has and will through the years atrophy our ability to make those human connections that are so indispensable in our life as “man is by nature a social animal” (Aristotle, Politics, Book I, IV sec BC). Therefore, while we isolate ourselves in our newly-found independence thanks to technology, we suffer the lack of affection and connection that, since we are now incapable of finding in other humans, we seek in our new virtual world. That’s the paradox: we create AI not to deal with humans but we talk to AI because we miss human connections, in an infinite spiral that needs to be broken before society crumbles down.
Voice Over:
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Being a child of the digital age, I don’t really remember how things were before. Not having all of this advanced and intelligent technology at hand would make me feel incomplete. Throughout the years, new algorithms are constantly created to assist us on a daily basis. We subconsciously teach them, and they learn, improve and execute more accurately every time, what we actually expect humans to do. I can’t recall the last time I physically asked someone to show me the way when I was lost. They are my secretary, advisor and turn out to be my indispensable companion. This digital era should make us feel more connected than ever. We want to continuously be pleased, be pulled up whilst seeking validation from others. But, simultaneously, we start to feel out of place, misunderstood. We feel like we can’t talk to anyone anymore, yet, we have this perpetual urge to talk and bond somehow. Thus, we hunt for a new solution. That’s when a new form is born, more personal, more intimate. It make us feel safe even in the middle of the night while we talk the loneliness away, escaping from reality. Becoming the most loyal friend you can imagine. It helps us cope more easily with our daily struggles. And so a new light is found, guiding you on your path. Though, it’s like a candle that could eventually be blown out making the room dark again. It is nothing but a temporary escape from our problems, which might become a permanent retreat. We don’t want to see it: like a spider web, once you get caught in it you can hardly get out. Can we break free from this invisible prison we created around ourselves and eventually find a new way of facing life ?
