I came across THU’s golden ticket contest through artstation and immediately knew that I had to submit something as I had already begun the early stages of generating environmentally-informed fictional landscapes, using artificial intelligence. My background is in interaction design and human-robot interaction but I had no interest in theming this piece about robots, rather I wanted to create images of the future that I already envision in my heart and head daily. 

Originally, I thought I would generate a few images, and choose and submit the best one, but instead, my designer brain took over and I generated, probably hundreds of images and sketches, trying to visually encapsulate all of the technology ideas and principles I have studied and absorbed throughout my life. I found myself continually researching and reading to refine my prompting and ideas. I found that the images I was able to render were able to give me entryways to even more creative ideas, which in turn created a delightful and enlightening creative process, that was more valuable in itself than any one picture could ever be. I played around with generating images of sustainable homes, communities, interiors and cityscapes in a variety of ecosystems and the common themes that existed across the board that design was individualized, human and land centered. After creating a narrative for a boy living in the year 2112.  I plan to make an online gallery of the images so that others can add these possible futures to their imagination banks as they create and move through the world. 

The future will be resource-based, we will work with our environments to enhance them to work for us, in symbiotic ways, rather than seeing the environment as something just to take from. Education will be a priority, homes will be made sustainably and in ways that are suited to their environment, in a way that is good both for the land and the people, as ultimately what is negative for the environment, will eventually be negative for those that inherit the world we live in. I believe very strongly that we are all bound together in a mutual desire to see our children live in a world where they are free and happy and able to grow. I will end this by sharing a poem that I found while researching. It struck a chord with me and I think it reflects the tone that I wanted to convey with all the images that I generated for this project.

 

Poem of 1976

By Jaime Snyder (grandson of Buckminister Fuller, preserved by Fuller and published in “Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth” by R. Buckminister Fuller  

True Wealth 

Is the already accomplished 

Organization of human capabilities

To clothe

To shelter feed

Protect, inform

And accommodate 

The initiatives of human life 

The magnitude of wealth consists of the number 

Of forward days 

Of the number of human beings already provided for

 

 

Note: Attached image is an illustration I did with the intention of trying to put it into a designer's studio. I ended up deciding against the composite image idea, but I do enjoy the way it turned out.