Project Description:
Dark Star Cyb3r is a science fiction universe I created that speculates on what a Cyborg future would be like, based on the path we are currently on. It is produced as a human-AI collaboration and derived from a full-length feature film script I wrote. ​
Research:
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Filmmaking is very expensive; there is potential for independent creators to use this avenue, although the current sentiment towards it is very negative.
I am deliberately shaping my characters around the central attention economy ecosystem. I want to see how the world might evolve to achieve YouTube analytics benchmarks, and how Cyborg Psychology functions in both an internal state and an evolving external manifestation.
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CYB3R CYBORG
I recently finished writing a feature-length Sci-fi screenplay. Per standard science fiction formula, characters are forced to confront ethical and moral dilemmas around technology. I created a dystopian universe, ravaged by climate change, where most humans were culled, with the select few being kept for entertainment and novelty.
The lead character is represented as Cyb3r Seraph in this short-form series. She is a digital goddess, shaped by AI preferences for beauty and femininity, though she will take many forms. She represents the bridge AI seeks to build for unifying human-machine symbiosis.
YouTube Dark Star Cyb3r channel summary
In alignment with my consistent theme of exploring how external, digitally driven forces inform art, I used YouTube Shorts as a platform to disseminate the videos. I wanted to grow a universe shaped by the one it operates in as an experiment to see how it evolves. Furthermore, I integrated generative AI into the process. I concepted and directed AI videos, then edited them in Premiere Pro, adding effects or transitions in After Effects. The score is all cleared AI music from SlipStream. Primarily, I am using the GrimesAI open-source files and altering their content as the artist intended. Filmmaking is incredibly expensive, so this could open the door for more independent work. Despite this, the sentiment towards generative AI is very negative right now. Fascinated by this, I wrote an article on AI slop that goes deeper into the idea.
Character Design for Cyb3r Seraph: Image on left created with Midjourney
My process followed a rather traditional framework for world-building and character design. I created mood boards as visual references for AI generation. This approach posed difficulty for several reasons. First, current generative AI programs cast a wide net in responsive material to a prompt, and the process takes an unreasonable number of iterations to create what you envision. Second, this vision often falls back on soulless imagery derived from our saturated, soulless pop culture. Entertainment media bias is also amplified.
Character Design for Nico: Image on left created with Midjourney
Initial analytics say very little right now as I need to publish more videos. I will script two weeks of short episodes next to allow a consistent daily release when I begin, as recommended to optimize the views in the YouTube algorithm. I will see how the following potential influences will affect the development of characters, narrative, and style: pressure to meet these aggressive content schedule requirements, comments from viewers, and projected needs from analytics.
YouTube Analytics for the Dark Star Cyb3r channel
I retraced the release of this short below due to potential violations, but it is an example of how my content evolved in response to a user's comment "AI slop doesn't deserve to be on this platform."
Assets from SlipStream, Midjourney, and KlingAI
/Dark /Star /Cyb3r
Cyborg Psychology explores complex and bizarre phenomena that arise when humans and AI interact. This project investigates how opaque AI-driven algorithms currently shape narratives. I strive to use my own human-AI creative collaboration to engage in a meta-narrative on “story existentialism” in algorithmic feedback loops.
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Research Questions:
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How does the attention economy shape the collective consciousness and cultural mythology?
What aspects of AI will people hate and why?
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How does the required fragmentation of a narrative, due to rapidly changing vertical, short-form media distribution outlets, change its meaning?
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This research experiment is currently ongoing and will evolve alongside AI technological development and the digital ecosystem in which the digital characters fight for existence. My methodology of speculative narrative in response to AI-human technological phenomena will serve the goals of Cyborg Psychology.