vs. Automation.
It’s funny that the “to be continued” story that I wrote a while ago (and have yet to continue) was a fictional tale about artificial intelligence, and here I am moving on to a new idea that deals with something quite similar – but uses visual communication instead.
In theory, that means that I shouldn’t have to use words, but it’s always hard for me to simply “post” an image with little or no explanation. In the future, I may get to that point, but for now I’m more interested in feedback.
So… as I’ve mentioned before, I’m always behind the times. I read and watch things years after they come out – so what is new to me is often “old news” to everyone else. Recently, I watched the documentary The Social Dilemma, which is from 2020.
I’m not going to get into the details of the show since you can stream it and watch it yourself (if you’re interested and haven’t seen it already), but the message that “I” got out of it seemed important; that technology (or social media) can be (is) used as a dangerous tool.
I know, I know… it’s old news. But, I wanted to see if I could do a series of illustrations or images that might express some of my own thoughts on the matter, so that I can share them with others. The only challenge here is that in order to share my visual ideas… I need to post them on social media! Oh the irony. Haha!
So… Illustration #1 – Creation vs. Automation – is pretty basic. There is no hardcore message behind it (maybe I jumped the gun!). I think it’s more like a cover image for the entire series, if that makes any sense.
Another great title for this one might be Beauty and the Beast.
Maybe that’s what the image is trying to say… like… there’s a beautiful world out there that still exists and we also have this wonderful technology – but the coexistence of both requires a careful balance. And social media is the beast (or can be if we allow it). Another point is that when we’re lost in technology, we literally fail to see the world.
I spent a long time working on this illustration and I wanted to see if anyone had feedback. As the base for this, I actually used an illustration of a model that I did in the past (in case she looks familiar to you!).
I added the robotic hand as a bit of an afterthought, and I’m wondering if it was overkill? The green AI face was going to be a mask, but I ended up reversing the effect so that it looks like the human face is actually the mask. Does that show through? Does the series even sound interesting? Is the green too much like an alien from Mars?
Just curious. These are the questions I have in my own mind, but if you have other thoughts or suggestions those are welcome too.
Anyway, I think that’s all for now. If you’d like to offer feedback I’d be grateful, if not, that’s OK too.
In the future, I hope to have my thoughts and images put together better for this particular series… and I’ll be able to eliminate some of these words!
Until then…
Peace and love!
a sprinkle of faith 
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