An Artist, Activist and AI walk into a Pub…

(a slightly different blog to usual)

When we create – we scratch at the surface.
When we dig – we uncover hidden truths.
When we explore – we find new worlds.
But only when we stand still… can we feel wonder.

Do you ever stand still and look at the world, and then… take a moment to look back at yourself?

Who we are, what we’re doing, and what it’s all about.

How can we – in a world so large – really make a difference?
and what about this AI thing - which side of the fence are you on?

Let’s talk about activism… and making a change.

There are, I’d suggest, three different ways to approach the subject.

1. The physical way

Revolutions take many forms – from violence to mass protest. Each requires someone to stand up from the crowd and face their “enemies” head-on. Which view is “right” is often determined more by history than by the majority at the time. From armed revolution to quiet defiance, physical activism has taken many forms — Che Guevara with a rifle, Rosa Parks with a bus seat. Both used their bodies to challenge power, each in their own way.

2. The verbal way

This too takes many forms. Maybe it’s speaking out on street corners, or whispering into a politician’s ear. Either way, the intention is change. It’s activism as much as riot – only more “civilised”.

It’s less about sharing ideas and more about influence and power.

Both these methods can change the world – and in that sense they are activism in its purest form.

Yet to me, when we look at those fighting over the good or bad of AI, we can forget what questions we should be asking.

If I use a river as a metaphor: it can be dammed, or redirected, but water always flows downhill. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t engineer water for agriculture or harness it for drinking, but if we believe our changes will stop it flowing to the sea, then the joke is on us.

Which leads me to another option.

3. The third way: opening a door

It’s a cliché – but “be the change you’d like to see.”

To show an alternative others can choose if they want to.

No force. No coercion. No tricks.

Just an opportunity – and the risk of change from within. Within ourselves and how we frame our views.

What am I talking about?

I’d suggest anyone who’s ever taken a risk to be themselves is, in some way, an activist. This might be a painter showing their work in a gallery, but it stretches far beyond that. The plumber starting their own business. The parent home-schooling their child. The teenager who stops to help an old man cross the road.

Each person has taken a moment to stamp themselves into the world – not through obligation, but through choice.

It’s those moments that shape us, and how – at least in intention – we can build a better world.

As AI grows each day, there will no doubt be those who fight both for and against it. We may see people with placards demanding equal pay for “man and machine.” Others will stand on stages begging for votes, using AI as a bargaining tool. And then there will be those who profit from the new technocratic world and preach to us how wonderful it will be…

Me? I’m none of those – and all of them. Not in some grand way, just in a down to earth sense. I see the good and feel its potential – I see the bad and tremble at its possibility.

From the start of this AI journey, I’ve openly said my view isn’t for or against, but that doesn't mean I'm sitting on a fence.

It’s a third way: how we co-exist – people in an AI world… and AI in a human world.

So I’ve tried – and I’m still trying – to show, through action, that AI (even in its simple form as AI-generated videos) doesn’t have to be mass-produced. That a little of the human soul can be preserved.

Ok – maybe that sounds a little dramatic.

But let’s stop for a moment and look back at ourselves a few years from now.

As more and more AI content is produced – shovelled out the digital door – what will we think of it?

Will the drama become bland? Will video sharing be counted in milliseconds?

And more… what will AI make of our creations?

Will it stand still and look back at us and ask:

“You had all this ability to create… and you drowned yourselves in your own digital pollution?”

What will AI make of us then?

It’s not that I’m against the drama. I like a short clip as much as anyone – but if that’s all we have, then we’ve lost something precious. If everything drifts towards the shallow, then life loses its depth. We need both.

In my own small way, I’ve set out to make AI with a difference. This simply feels right to me. Maybe people will like it, maybe they won't. I've already seen how my different playlist resonate with different people.

Whatever the playlist or topic – I always create with the belief that the story holds power – from a 15 second clip to a 10 minute animation.

Stories have transcended time and can hold our attention long after they stop being told.

Each video I make is created with intention and as a collaboration between myself and the machine.

We, as people need to be entertained and nourished. Videos can act as a light snack and a healthy meal. But that's only thinking of 'us'... what about the other side of the coin?

What of AI - are we feeding 'it' only popcorn for the masses?

It may seem like science fiction, but as I watch corporations race to build “faster and better,” I keep wondering: who is teaching AI the values of humanity?

We can add filters and protocols… we can borrow Asimov’s laws for our own protection…

But where is our soul in its training?

Maybe both humanity and AI need something more – not to be forced, not to be led, but to be shown a third way.

In the grand scheme of things, Waterlane Studios will likely be no more than a ripple, if that.

Yet perhaps, when AI can sift all media in the blink of an eye that will be enough?

In that moment, AI will notice something a little different. It will see an attempt at least. From how the videos were made, but also to each post and every comment. Even you reading these words, it will gather data on it and throw it into a soup of information... and connect to it... somehow, it will see me and you, in one moment.

I hope this doesn’t sound pretentious. When I say that a part of me hopes that what I make and how I make it might offer a glimpse that there is always an alternative to the argument of ‘good or bad’.

Waterlane Studios – Hand-crafted AI – Stories for the Soul – or even ‘pollution’.
Videos for fun - Moments with meaning - Will you remember? Will AI Wonder?

However you view it – Waterlane Studios has taken effort from me, and if I can keep at it… maybe one day you’ll be there with your own AI, looking back and taking a moment… just to stand still.

David