Video: Barnaba 'Vaticinator' Mikułowski
Music: Paweł Hendrich
Both sonically and visually, Tenebrilis evokes the unnamable – an atmosphere suspended between shadow and light, a form that slowly unfolds like a dense fog saturated with darkness. The piece oscillates between tension and trembling, between distinct structure and evanescence. Here, darkness is not merely the absence of light – it is a living element that breathes, moves, and resonates.
The Composition is a part of the project Random Check 7
Tenebrilis
The piece Tenebrilis draws its name from the Latin tenebrae – meaning “darkness” – and the Latin-like suffix -ilis, which suggests a state, quality, or characteristic. The title can be interpreted on multiple levels: as a metaphorical essence of darkness, as a state of immersion in shadow, or as the name of a being woven from darkness – an entity of fluid, ethereal nature that eludes precise definition.
Tenebrilis also portrays a subtle struggle between the ephemerality of human thought and the constant, overwhelming influx of information. Luminous forms symbolizing consciousness stand beneath a waterfall of dark current, where ideas attempt to crystallize amid a chaotic torrent of data. It is a metaphor for contemporary reality, in which valuable thoughts drown in a flood of information, and deep reflection becomes a rarity.
Challenging Times, New Lives
"Challenging Times, New Lives" is an abstract 3D animation that delves into the emotional complexities surrounding the burgeoning field of Artificial Superintelligence (ASI). It explores the wide spectrum of possible futures this technology could create – from utopian progress to potential decline – and the inherent uncertainty that shadows its genesis. It is a meditation on creation, responsibility, and the hopes and fears that accompany the dawn of something entirely new.
The animation employs symbolic imagery, such as a human skull veiled by a fluid, ever-changing mask, to represent the inherent duality of ASI: its capacity for both immense good and potential harm. This deformable mask, in its constant state of flux, mirrors the volatile and unpredictable nature of ASI's potential impact on humanity, and the anxiety of nurturing something beyond our complete control.
More than just a visual spectacle, the animation externalizes the anxieties, aspirations, and ethical questions confronting those at the forefront of ASI development. It embodies the profound weight of responsibility that comes with bringing a potentially transformative technology into existence. It acknowledges the fear of the unknown, the potential for unintended consequences, and the fervent hope that this new creation will ultimately enhance, rather than diminish, the human experience.
Through its abstract form, "Challenging Times, New Lives" invites viewers to engage with the complex moral and philosophical questions at the heart of ASI. It subtly asks us to consider our own roles in shaping this future and to contemplate the meaning of bringing something new into the world, nurturing it, and hoping it flourishes in a way that reflects our best intentions.
AI can make you...
A looping 3D animation about the dual nature of AI. Alongside promises of development (wisdom, efficiency), the spectre of 'uselessness' appears. The animation asks what this truly means in the era of artificial intelligence, where utility might be measured by a completely new standard.
Sound by Adam Fijołek