It’s been nearly 40 years since the AI replicants of Blade Runner first walked the neon drenched streets of sci fi LA. Despite significant advances in technology however, narratives of human-like Artificial Intelligence spiraling out of control still permeate all forms of popular culture. In most of these stories AI means sentient robots with a consciousness that mirrors our own. Super soldiers, Sex bots, domestic help and humanoid machine laborers liberating us from work, fulfilling our desires, going places we fear to tread rising up, taking over and doing away with our outdated fragile bodies. In the imaginary worlds of Science Fiction, we have always explored the fears and wonders of AI technology. In this film we will explore contemporary representations of artificial intelligence in film, television, and global culture and with an ensemble of designers from the entertainment industry, scientists and technologists we will investigate where the science ends and fiction takes over.

Featured in this documentary are: Jon Carlos [art director of the TV series WestWorld]; Victor Martinez [concept artist for Blade Runner 2049]; Deborah Harrison [head of the conversational UI team at Microsoft]; Dominic Polcino [director of Rick and Morty]; Sid Suri [computational scientist with the Adaptive Systems and Interaction group of Microsoft Research]; Ingrid Burrington [writer, geographer and theorist]; Lauren Mccarthy [artist and technologist]; Ross Goodwin [artist and coder]; Jessica Brillhart [director, MxR Lab at USC Institute for Creative Technologies] and Veronica So [producer for artist Ian Cheng’s AI-driven virtual lifeform called BOB].

Crew Credits -

Production:
Creator and Executive Producer - Hernan Diaz Alonso
Producers - Marcelyn Gow/Reza Monahan
Directors - Reza Monahan/Alexey Marfin
Interviewers - Liam Young/Frances Anderton/Reza Monahan
Narrator - Liam Young
Director of Photography - Sean Morris
B Camera - John Kiefer
C Camera - Robert Moreno
Sound Engineer - Chris Trueman
V.O. Recording Engineer - Phil Logan

Post-Production:
Story Producers - Caroline Post/Cal Crawford
VFX Supervisor - Alexey Marfin
Editor - Reza Monahan
Sound Mixer - Derek Sample

Soundtrack Written and Performed by Jason Schimmel with Vocals by Jessika Kenney

All Additional Video and Images Courtesy of the Artists, Scientists and Technologists

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