Move 37: Aftermaths and Alluvion

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Aftermaths explores the tension between technological innovation and environmental degradation.

 

Beneath the ocean’s surface, an unintended experiment unfolds. Heavy metals, microplastics, and industrial waste infiltrate marine ecosystems, disrupting the genetic fabric of marine life. The sea, once a habitat, has become a Petri dish of human negligence.

 

Artificial intelligence, heralded as a solution to ecological crises, embodies a profound irony. AI promises optimised energy systems and sustainable resource management, yet the energy demands of server farms exacerbate the very issues it seeks to address. AI, rather than being a neutral saviour, compounds humanity’s impact on the planet.

 

Synthetic biology amplifies this paradox. AI-powered genetic engineering, like bacteria that consume pollutants or plants that sequester carbon, holds promise. Yet, evolution’s resistance to human control means missteps could destabilize ecosystems, with unpredictable consequences. These technologies, while transformative, must be used cautiously.

 

Aftermaths encapsulates this paradox in a dystopian underwater world, where mutated creatures—born of pollution and technological interference—serve as haunting reflections of humanity’s impact. As the film unfolds, relics of human innovation, now overgrown with coral and teeming with marine life, stand as symbols of unchecked ambition.

 

Set to Arvo Pärt’s Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten, it is a sobering meditation on the fragility of progress and the unintended consequences of technological power.

 

 

Alluvion reimagines 17th-century still life through AI, presenting hybrid floral forms that question our manipulation of the natural world.

 

Orchids, through Pouyannian mimicry, exploit pollinators by resembling courting insects, showcasing natural selection's ingenuity. This process, shaped by evolutionary trial and error, parallels generative AI, which uses algorithms to simulate mutation, creating evolving images.

 

Drawing from 17th-century still life painting— traditionally a meditation on mortality—AI-generated artworks of mutated flower-insect hybrids blend nature’s beauty with the uncanny. Petals become hyaline fins, stems twist into antennae, blurring the line between evolution and design. These hybrid forms provoke ethical and ecological questions, serving as a modern memento mori, reminding us of a future shaped by both human ambition and nature’s unpredictability.

 

 

The term Move 37 gained significance during a pivotal moment in the 2016 Go match between AlphaGo, an AI developed by DeepMind, and professional Go champion Lee Sedol. In the second game of their five-match series, AlphaGo made an unconventional move—Move 37—that stunned both Sedol and Go experts. The move was highly unorthodox, deviating from established human strategies, yet it ultimately proved instrumental in AlphaGo’s victory in that game.

 

Move 37 symbolizes a breakthrough in AI's creative and strategic thinking, showcasing how machines can approach problems in ways humans might not anticipate, marking a historic moment in AI research and its potential applications.