Things Will Change
A travel film exploring humanity’s journey through history, touching on themes of faith, nature, technological advancement, and the essence of human connection. The film is divided into four chapters, each reflecting on different aspects of human existence and evolution, inspired by the evocative AI-written poem Things Will Change.
I loved travelling.
That is to say, I loved the movement and change. Often, we travel only to reach a particular destination quickly, and indeed, that is how I travel for work. In 2019, I completed an 11-city worldwide speaking tour during which I engaged in live debates with 11 different Google AI experts about the future of AI (which was fun!). Some people asked me why I didn’t blog my way around. As a travel writer and blogger, they thought this experience would be like my backpacking world tour with Cesca in 2008/9.
No, it wasn’t. Travelling for work is travelling to arrive. It’s all about the final result and not the joy of the journey. My work trip involved a lot of flying, eating not-so-great food, waiting in lines, and having to explain myself to different international incarnations of TSA agents.
Travelling like we did in 2008/9 was utterly different. We gave up our entire lives and put everything we owned in a bin or a storage container. We hugged our friends and our families goodbye. We resigned from our careers, girded our loins, and carried everything we owned on our backs.
That is travelling.
Doing things in this way may not be what you expect. If you’ve never done it before, your experience might be limited to the few weeks a year you spend on vacation, such as hiking or at the beach. However, before you know it, you are back home and back to work. During these trips, you enter “vacation mode,” you’re on “holibobs,” and everything feels new and exciting—luxurious, whatever that may mean to you.
After two weeks in holiday mode, I was exhausted, and after four weeks, I was breaking. I just couldn’t keep up the holiday mode excitement for that long. I realised, with creeping dread, that not only had we only been away for a few weeks, but we still had eleven months left to go!
I had to totally change my mindset and get into a completely different place, and I did it step by step. I did it by forming relationships—with my darling wife, of course, but more than this, I became fascinated by people—the thousands of people I met—their stories, their journeys, and their views of the world.
It was liberating and made me very hopeful about the world’s future. After all, what could happen in a world containing so many truly living beings? There are so many people with dreams, ambitions, and stories. I listened to them all, recorded them, and wrote about them when I got back.
After returning, I have created several short films about those days. However, I have always desired to incorporate them into something larger – a film that tells the story of how we travelled and observed the world. Step by step, tuk-tuk by tuk-tuk, and train by train, we crossed the world, taking flights only when necessary.
Could I make a film about that feeling?
Then, years passed, and my world changed. I had children, built a new career from the remains of the last one, and became an expert on a new and exciting technology called Artificial Intelligence (AI).
AI scares people.
Whenever I arrived in one of our company offices, the number one question I was asked was, “Are you here to replace my job with AI?”.
Many people find AI quite frightening, but it can never replace the experiences I had while travelling. AI can never replicate human-to-human interaction, and it’s important to remember that.
Do not fear.
Things will change.
About the Film
“Things Will Change” was initially a poem that originated from an AI, but it sparked my creativity to weave a narrative using my own travel footage. In my vision for the film, I see a scenario where a future AI takes over my computer to piece together the story using my footage. Once the AI completes the editing, it transmits the final footage to my TV, and then we all gather to watch it together.
Has the AI’s words got anything to teach us? The poem is divided into four chapters, starting with the oldest ancient and forgotten world, moving through the last few undisturbed places on Earth, before showing us our highest achievements: the cities of the East, and finally looking for peace in Zen Temples amongst the sands and golden pagodas.
Film Chapters
Chapter 1: The Ancient World
The film opens with vistas of ancient temples and shrines found in Angkor Wat. The AI-narrator reflects on humanity’s deep connection to the divine, the search for meaning, and the battles fought in the name of unseen gods. The visuals capture the beauty and brutality of ancient rituals, emphasizing the timeless quest for answers and the eternal struggle between faith and violence.
Transitioning to more intimate settings, the film delves into the human desire to escape pain and death. Through witnessing the morning meditations and the majestic evening Ganga Aarti, viewers witness individuals grappling seeking solace in the heavens. The narrator speaks to the importance of embracing pain and joy, warning against the numbing of emotions. This chapter is a meditation on the human spirit’s resilience and the relentless pursuit of meaning.
Chapter 2: The Natural World
The narrative shifts to the natural world, showcasing stunning footage of New Zealand’s forests, rivers, and wildlife. The film contrasts the beauty of untouched nature with the devastation wrought by human hands. It highlights humanity’s dual role as both creator and destroyer, capturing humanity’s use of the world for its own entertainment.
In this chapter, the film explores humanity’s attempts to control nature. Scenes of the captivity of Pandas are juxtaposed with moments of nature’s quiet resistance through wild tigers in India. The narrator reflects on the fleeting nature of domination and the resilience of the natural world. This chapter serves as a powerful reminder of the delicate balance between human ambition and ecological harmony.
Chapter 3: The Rise of Cities
The film then moves to the rise of modern cities, with breathtaking shots of Hong Kong’s dance of neon-faceted skyscrapers, Japan’s famous scramble crossing and Tokyo’s bustling fish market. The narrative examines the marvels of human ingenuity and the shadows cast by progress. It questions the sustainability of rampant consumption and the dwindling resources that fuel our great cities. The visuals capture the dichotomy of technological advancement and its impact on the natural environment.
Chapter 4: Do Not Fear
In a hopeful turn, the film focuses on humanity’s potential for positive change. While examining the great Zen temples of Kyoto and the stone and moss gardens of the Buddhists, It emphasizes the importance of human connection and the bonds that transcend time interwoven with the narrator’s call to cherish what truly matters. It then shows the beautiful countryside of England, and the narrator urges viewers to let AI serve humanity, reminding them to cherish each moment and honour the earth.
As a filmmaking challenge, this has been massive. Firstly, all the footage I took around the world is in the old 50i format. In other words, it is similar to basic 720p 25fps. It’s simply not viable in today’s 4k 60 fps world. I had to figure out how to upscale every single frame, which took weeks to complete. My recent experimental upscaling of my airsoft film, “Jawbreaker”, was a dry-run training course of figuring out how to do this without going mad. Next, I needed to recut and colour everything and add in the AI’s poem.
Some of the technology used in the film:
Topaz Video AI
Advanced software that enhances video quality using AI, offering upscaling, noise reduction, stabilization, and slow-motion.
Elevenlabs
Advanced AI-powered text-to-speech and voice cloning technology, generating natural, customizable, multilingual voices.
OpenAI GPT-4o
A multimodal AI model excelling in text, audio, and vision tasks, offering real-time, natural interactions.
Luckily, modern AI technologies are about augmenting one’s abilities. And really, that is the lesson here—AI will not take over. In fact, it is AI that has enabled me to realize a 10-year dream and make this film. It has augmented my abilities way beyond what the original footage allows. It is fair to say that making this film without AI wouldn’t be possible. Far from taking over, it has saved my creative vision from being just a dream.
Things will change. But that doesn’t mean they will be worse.
Thank you for reading and watching.
Until the creative mind calls again, I leave you with my film Things Will Change.
The Film
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