Work Meeting On Friday
I debated whether to share what inspired this animation because many people are burnt out by politics and navigating our chaotic world. The animation itself is light-hearted even though the inspiration for it isn’t; but I never end on a negative note in my work because when I take a long-range look at humanity I am hopeful. This project is something I wanted to make to better learn 3D software. It is also expressing a very real hope that I have for humanity - both the experience and more so the sentiment behind it.
The subject of this animation is something I’ve mulled over for most of my life. My dad was an amateur astronomer with an educational background in math and science. Space exploration was regularly a topic of discussion in my home.
The current scientific consensus is that we’re likely not alone in the universe. As technology continues to improve, researchers are able to cast a wider net in their search for signs of life elsewhere in the universe. While we witness humanity deliberately carry out acts of brutality and domination against one another every time we turn on the news, I can’t help but question whether we are collectively ready to encounter extraterrestrial life or intelligence. Would we welcome it if we found it? This is no way a suggestion to halt the search. It just means we have work to do while we look.
Unfortunately you don’t have to look too hard to find people who do not recognize the rights and dignity of all people. In the U.S. this attitude is especially evident toward immigrants, which likely parallels how people might respond to encountering extraterrestrial life/intelligence.
There’s a similar issue with AI. Although it is in the earliest stages of development, the AI software and apps being used are not true AI in the sense of being self aware or capable of thinking. They’re statistical generators. There’s no intelligence present. When it comes to discussing the ethics of AI, there’s always mention of the risks it poses to humanity. Those risks are worthy of discussion and require the utmost seriousness and nuance. However there’s almost no mention of how humanity might harm or exploit an AI, if we ever truly build one. It is not ethical to design an intelligent lifeform whose entire purpose or parameters of its existence is just to serve humanity. This might seem far-fetched because AI is in its earliest stages; but slavery is still occurring and it’s more prevalent than people might realize. The long-term goals of AI sound like slavery. Scientists have very specific definitions of life, intelligence, and sentience and there are some earthly life forms they still argue over where they fall in those categories. If we encounter extraterrestrial life that doesn’t meet the criteria of those definitions, what might we do to it?
As terrible as things can be, humanity isn’t wholly bad or we would’ve extinguished ourselves a long time ago. The good in us is easy to overlook because it doesn’t make headlines the way the bad does and because we often remember pain long after happiness has faded, but it is there nonetheless.
The path forward begins with each of us - you don’t have to buy what people are selling to you. Who were you before the 24-hour newscycle, before the omnipresence of social media and creating a public-facing persona? What did you do before the hyperreality of the internet? What did you think of other people before likes and dislikes became symbolic of one’s moral character? How did you vote before politics turned into theater? What made you laugh? What was your favorite thing to do? Who were you most excited to see? No matter our past, we can choose our future.
*Video also available to watch on Youtube - click here
Credits:
Made with Blender, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro - 2024
Everything was modeled and textured by me except for the wood paneling and ferns which are from Polligon. The alien hand is a free model. I modified the scale and added color & texture. I also set up the animation/poses.
Model credit - "Alien Hand" (https://skfb.ly/opnLO) by Rudraksh is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Sound
Pouring Coffee (Several Times) by madcowzack -- https://freesound.org/s/584972/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Photocopier by giddster -- https://freesound.org/s/360530/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
Static noise of an old office by AKkingStudio -- https://freesound.org/s/683811/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
Images & Graphics
Las Vegas photo, airline poster, and newspaper images from iStockPhoto
My logo on the donut box was designed by graphic designer and glass artist - John Reichel