Catius B
WELCOME TO AI EXOPLANET CATIUS B...
A series of images & accompanying text, documentary style shorts and music videos about imaginary exoplanet Catius B and its inhabitants the Felinids.
Metaphors for issues and themes in human society (along with a healthy dose of surreal nonsense and humour).
Cats, cats, cats…
Contact
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Introduction
For many artists, AI is viewed as a tool, even a competitor. I wanted to explore the idea of AI as a collaborator, not just facilitating human creation, but contributing to it, not just aesthetically but philosophically..
So much fear surrounds the potential harm that can be caused by AI; amplifying hate speech, misinformation, plagiarism, environmental impact etc. but what about the potential good?
This project was created in three days for the 2024 Eyemyth/Unboxed Labs Artist Residency as a kind of thought experiment, to attempt to address the burning question: ‘is AI fundamentally good or intrinsically bad?’
And if AI is the culmination of the output of human creativity, can we even explore ‘are humans fundamentally good or intrinsically bad?’
Moreover, if AI can imagine a better future, can this give us some hope and direction as humans to go ahead and build one?
Inspiration
While some of my favourite Instagram artists like Nice Aunties and Ministry of Latent Places tell imaginative stories and have great visuals, many AI artists use their imagined worlds for social commentary about the real world and sharing of ideas.
I feel Indigenous futurist artists are a particularly important subset of the latter, even more so considering my British origins and the damage my ancestors have done through colonisation.
I’m conscious of the fine line between cultural appropriation and participation/collaboration. My goal is to bring awareness to these movements, create a dialogue, explore my own roots, spiritual beliefs and cultural heritage and imagine a better future so we can work on building one.
While Indigenous futurists imagine worlds specific to their individual cultures, and futurists generally imagine worlds specific to humanity, I want to imagine an alien world specific to cats.
Not only because I like cats (a lot), but because a cat-based world allows me a safe (and fun) space to explore themes relevant to humanity, without treading on any individual culture’s toes. Plus everyone (mostly) likes cats.
With the AI revolution taking place, impacting humanity as drastically as the industrial revolution or the age of the internet, it is essential to engage with it.
I am doing so via building this imaginary world together - if we can collaborate to build something aspirational, then I hope it will open people’s eyes to how AI might help us change our own world for the better (and start doing it!)