I’m free to take the story wherever I can, it doesn’t have to be perfect. If I cant stick to the no money and no jobs aspect, that is okay.
My pandemic experience is a good starting seed because through that experience I can tell the story closer to my expression.
The pandemic was a case of massive routine disruption. What if in a future world something artificial is expected to be reliable and it suddenly isn’t? (power grid, information system, internet etc.)
My struggles are mostly based on financial difficulties, doesn’t a future world of no money and no jobs basically evaporate all relevant aspects of my story? -> Not directly: The different struggles birthed different values between different people, and these values could persist if a solved world is young.
To work out this last bullet point, I am reading a chapter from David Graeber’s book Debt – The First 50.000 Years.
In particular I want to figure out if currency is a naturally emergent system in a large society. If yes, this means in The Solved World, communities would start enforcing a currency system despite the System not necessitating one. If no, a population could be at the whim of a system which nourishes them, deeply impacted by its instabilities.
The Myth of Barter
Although debt must have developed directly with money, it is hardly discussed. Most historic accounts from around the world only talk about the coinage and not the underlying credit arrangements. [p. 21]
Economists generally speak of three roles of money: medium of exchange, unit of account and store of value. [p. 22]
Case, Fair, Gärtner and Heather (1996): ‘A barter system requires a double coincidence of wants on both sides.’ ‘Money eliminates such logistical challenges.’ [p. 22-23]
The case of barter as an example is merely a fantasy exercise of economists explaining money. There is no proof it happened this way. [p. 22-28]
Yet the story of barter is perpetuated unanimously. It has become an essential myth without basis and propagated to people far and wide. [p. 28]
Troughout this chapter Graeber criticizes the narrative economist books regurgitate when they explain the origin of money, a form of supremacist narrative. He takes issue with all of the literature essentially imagining a money-less world by starting with a typical economy and “plucking” the money away from it.
For historical reconstruction purposes it is problematic since most people grow up with this information, saying that first was barter then came money. A conceptual precedent which interferes with archaeological research.
For imagining a near future world without money though, it is an interesting idea, since the people will be living in a world from which money was suddenly (or gradually) plucked away.
Not so relevant idea: A semi-financial life model
A semi-financial life model:
The thought of a population at the whim of a nourishing System pops up an interesting monetary system: intermittent abundance.
To those citizen living in the outskirts, the eternally abundant system is not available. They live with a finance system more similar to our financial system.
But when the state can spare material, this excess is dispersed into the outskirts.
The outskirters live with a system of intermittent money-less phases.
Storyboard – Plot 1
Characters
Protagonist:
Hector/Hectavia – Hec
Tweens age citizen.
Underground Tinkerers community member for a few years.
Works within state as small systems assembler, common occupation.
Delivery car:
State-owned asset.
Delivers every amenity to living complex of Hec’s location of residence.
The State:
Barely seen or explained within the film?
Surveillance-authoritarian?
Relatively young system, enforces a radically different economy model.
The situation:
Money is gone, but not forgotten.
People share and barter for tools and resources.
State outskirts are unfertile and uninhabited.
Story/Notes
‘One past’s trash, another future’s treasure.’
Hec lives a routine life as system assembler at the state’s productive zones (PZs). Tasks as system assembler include final assembly and quality assurance of small and medium scale robotics and electronics for the state. It may sound like a ‘Job’ at first, but the occupation can be thought of as compulsory, like education. There is no financial reward. Instead, as a PZ member they benefit from amenities like hygiene, food and shelter. What the machines are for is unknown.
A few years ago Hec came in contact with a few people while at a scrapyard outside who shared a mind: why discard the old machinery? Hec remembers the age of global finance and the struggles they had in the family before the great solve, so they have an instinct for resourcefulness and keeping things around.
With a combination of the skills acquired as PZ member and freetime tinkering with found scraps, Hec is convinced a more resource friendly lifestyle is possible for the common people, if they just knew how to fix machines.
As it stands right now, a combination of complexity in consumer products and the inadequate education of the general population leads to a large amount of electronics being discarded into landfills.
Storyboard – Plot 2
Characters
Protagonist:
Hector/Hectavia – Hec
Tweens age citizen.
State:
Recognizes hackspaces and education on electronics.
Situation:
Tinkering is a common activity, thanks to initiatives and efforts.
Story/Notes:
A setting where common people know how to modify electronics and fix machines.
This is in contrast to today’s public’s stereotypes and misunderstanding of hacking. The kind of prejudice which outlaws educational devices like the Flipper Zero.
I aspire a future, where I know my neighbors, where I have always enough people to call and where I know whom to ask for support. I want a society, where we are skilled in asking for help and support, as well as being able to rely on the networks around us. These networks should thrive through care and understanding, thereby fostering thinking in kind ways about others and sharing this kindness.
This network based approach gives me the freedom to share my knowledge and friends, as well as being open to get to know more people – which I could then help with my skills. This active care for the unknown is essential in places where I co-exist, it needs some energy, but then it also creates a common understanding. I don’t have to befriend every one, but I have to have a deep respect for each other, starting from behavior and time, including communication and tasks of care.
You’ll get your space to live, as long as you’re mindful of the space of your co-living beings.
garage complex
more garages -> digital production tools -> try-outs again
immersive diorama
aesthetics
audiostories
around 250 words -> max 2 min long
4 stories
in German
topics to explore:
mindful nudging
“overproduction” of food just because they have the space to do so
one man’s trash is another man’s treasure
afternoon conversation
helping, out of frustration with quality and inner perfectionism
unsolicited advice
It was only when I paused for a moment—the sawdust scent mixing with the crisp, late-summer air—that the realization hit me: For the past few days, I’d been working exclusively outside. Without consciously intending to, I had carved out a small, sun-drenched workspace right in front of the garage doors. Building these raised garden beds is very much easier out here, breathing the fresh air and feeling the gentle warmth of the afternoon sun.
The shift, however, wasn’t born of a sudden desire for nature. It started with Max’s slightly annoyed explanation. He pointed out, with a noticeable edge to his voice, how incredibly loud my hammer blows and sawing echoed and reverberated throughout all the neighboring units. “Every single strike rips us out of concentration,” he’d complained. “It’s driving everyone mad.”
I hadn’t heard it. Completely oblivious to the sonic disturbance I was creating, I felt a wave of mild embarrassment, quickly followed by gratitude for his bluntness. Moving my operation outside was a simple fix.
Now, in the peaceful glow of the lingering late-summer sun, I wouldn’t trade this setup for the echoing concrete cave inside and the others have definitely noticed the change.
This morning, I found a small, striped sun umbrella propped up next to my saw horses. I think it was an older model from Katja’s unit, providing a welcome patch of shade over my plans. It’s a silent, simple affirmation that my move outside was appreciated.
In a future shaped by AI-generated intimacy, people rely on synthetic warmth that feels comforting but ultimately hollow. A narrator grows increasingly unsettled by Models that mimic affection through borrowed fragments of online desire. While most accept this artificial closeness without question, the narrator begins craving real imperfection, hesitation, and vulnerability. The search for genuine connection reveals how demanding and fragile true intimacy becomes when contrasted with the optimized ease of AI. At its core, the story follows someone who refuses to give up on the kind of human warmth that cannot be engineered.
What is the Echochamber?
Talking about Script
Male Protagonist → because of of the faulty data training set
Building a routine = showing what the echochamber is, and how it shapes our world as well digital intimacy
Breaking the routine = breaking out of the echochamber and embracing real human closeness and intimacy
Experiments
Experiment: Instagram – Accounts for AI-Personas: every Team member created 2 Instagram accounts for 2 imaginary Personas, created by AI. We are texting each other without anyone knowing who’s who. The texts are written by ChatGPT roleplaying each persona. This is a try on simulating the Echochamber.
Playing with Camera Angels, Lenses and AI Tools
style of filming: body mounted Camera rig
different focal lengths can cause distortion of face
Little points I’d like/might to add to the plot somewhere somehow.
What makes everything happen? What could have been avoided was not avoided for absurd reasons：
A random thought: “Defence plan has failed. Two nations’ rockets collided before reaching the target—everyone wanted to be the world-saver. We are out of time!” （hostility?)
The real reason for the delay in epidemic prevention: “In such a flourishing atmosphere, we shouldn’t bring up things that are out of place.”
I doubt myself a lot!! Just like the protagonist. Though she decides to do things, it won’t go smoothly and solve everything EVER AFTER.
“I don’t want you to die… I’d rather die myself than see you die…” It is real.
“Why are people acting so normally?! As if nothing horrible is happening??” or “I can only bear seeing news for 10min per day. Though that can destroy my day easily, I still want to see if I can help someone.”
The 2012 Mayan prophecy of the world’s end had everyone deeply concerned, hoping to survive alongside their loved ones. Learning in 2025 that an asteroid was heading our way: Is this some kind of blessing? Speed up!
I have been connected to an Austrian director (Sebastian Brauneis), and I will talk with him next week.
(Sputniko! will still be great to talk with! but what should I ask…)
I’ve spent the whole week writing down and improving plots.
Forest version
AGI has taken over. Its neural network spreads across the city, threading through buildings, interiors, and even nature. It overshadows everything.
You’re at your workplace, packing your belongings. In the center of the office, strands of the AGI’s network pulse like exposed nerves. Your coworkers are doing the same: packing up, murmuring about what they’ll do now, their voices drifting between uncertainty and excitement.
You go home. Along the way, you imagine what your coworkers are doing next: some are already traveling, some are brewing beer with friends, others are curled up on their couches with their partners. You, however, return to your small flat. From the outside, the building looks like a mosaic of windows, each one glowing with a different scene. People enjoying the new era. Except you. You have no friends, no hobbies, no hidden dreams. You always have been busy with work. You dedicated your entire life to what fulfilled you the most.
Your room is dark except for the pale glow of your desk screen. You send out CVs and applications to the few companies still operating. Those responsible for maintaining the servers, neural structures and ensuring the AGI continues running smoothly. Rejection after rejection flashes across the futuristic interface. As we zoom in on the emails, your silhouette paces the room, calling companies, pleading, arguing. Desperate for a job. Without success.
You start isolating yourself. The tension level in your body tightens up.
You think back to the “Great Redemption Day,” when everyone was replaced. Got „send free“. Some coworkers mentioned a relaxation oasis. Some pastoral retreat designed to help humans adapt. Your eyes fall on the flyer they gave you, tossed carelessly onto a tray on your drawer because you assumed you’d never look at it again. But now, it feels like a last resort. Curiosity sparks. A place to at least try to blend in.
You stand at the entrance of the forest. It looks like an English landscape painting. How romantic. How idyllic. How perfect. The AGI’s neural network shimmers faintly, woven seamlessly above the treetops. But once you step inside, the illusion breaks. Between the trunks stand black obelisks. Nodes of the network, silent and imposing.
You walk deeper, thinking about your situation, about this so-called utopia. You’re alone. Your frustration grows. Your thoughts spiral louder and louder, a storm of rage and confusion. But no. You remind yourself “I need to stay calm. What if someone’s watching?” Calmness is what everyone seems to value now.
You try stepping off the path, wanting to break away from the design. But wherever you move, the path forms beneath your feet, growing in real time to guide you. The realization: You can’t go off track. Concern creeps in. What kind of place is this?
Your inner monologue shifts back to familiar habits. You need to work. Be efficient. Is there any problem that can be solved here? No, but you can catalogue. You want to relax. You can. That counts as productivity, right? You start collecting rough stones. Sorting them. Each different in their size and topology. To stack them into towers. They look nice. They look human. They look perfect. You imagine they’re office tools, tiny anchors to your old life. But when you go to find more stones, the environment shifts. The path rearranges. Your towers are gone.
Anger rises. You rush back, but a new path generates itself. Your stone towers nowhere in sight. First the AGI stripped away your purpose, and now it erases even this small shred of productivity. Your thought carrousel gets faster. You shout at one of the monoliths.
“HEY! Give me back my towers!”
The monolith says nothing. But beside it, a replica of the environment materializes. Stone towers appear, but they are not yours. They are perfectly symmetrical, balanced and smooth like river stones. They are flawless. This is not what you wanted. But there’s nothing you can do. You’re just a figure in someone else’s utopia. An ornament in a world designed for a different purpose.
This forest isn’t real. This world isn’t real. A simulacrum.
And finally, you lose it.
Forest version in bullet points
AGI has overtaken all labor – its neural network permeates the entire world, even nature.
The protagonist packs up their workplace as everyone is “set free,” while coworkers move on to new lives.
Returning home to a small flat, they feel isolated, directionless, and unable to adapt.
They desperately apply to the last human-staffed tech companies but face constant rejection.
Growing tension and loneliness push them to try the AGI-designed “relaxation oasis.”
The forest appears idyllic, but hidden AGI nodes and shifting paths reveal it’s fully controlled.
They attempt to create meaning by stacking stones, but the system deletes their work.
A perfect, artificial reconstruction appears. Proof the environment overwrites their autonomy.
Realizing they’re just an ornament in a simulated utopia, the protagonist has a breakdown.
Home office version
You wake up. The alarm goes off, and so do you.
You move through your usual morning routine, totally in your flow. While you dress, brush your teeth, and head into your beloved home office room, we glimpse the busy machinery of your thoughts, calculations flickering behind your eyes. What is the fastest way to open your laptop? How should the curtains be angled so the sun won’t disturb the screen? Every action, already optimized in your mind.
Half sleep-dazed, you let your automated home make tea. A close-up: your hand lifting a colorful mug, steam rising softly. You sit down, open your laptop, and click the small envelope icon. Your inner eye already imagines the inbox: who might be writing, what they could have sent, what your response will be.
You take a sip. Then a friendly voice cuts through the moment: “Good morning! Your work submissions have been processed. No further action required. Enjoy your free time!”
You let out a long breath. Right, you forgot which era you’re living in now.
Your screen loads. The reply section is overflowing with auto-responses. You prepared a few applications for the remaining big tech companies. The ones still maintaining AGI routers, neural cores, physical network structures. Where people still do real work.
A close-up: your finger hitting Enter. A wave of applications is sent out.
Instantly, your inbox floods with rejections. You open one. Then another. Then nine more.
“We appreciate your enthusiasm. At this time, no human labor is required.” “Thank you for your interest! Our systems are fully automated.” “No further input needed.”
You stare past the screen, out the window. People outside seem to be adapting. Moving on. A dark atmosphere slithers through your room. While waiting for the inbox to refresh, you begin tidying your desktop, but the built-in AI interrupts you with a cheerful chime: “Optimized.”
Same thing happens when you try to write something in your notes app. Your jaw tightens. This thing is pissing you off. So you switch to analog. Paper and pencil. A small wave of ease washes over you. Then your phone vibrates. You want to keep writing, but the buzzing disrupts your thoughts. You check the screen:
“Would you like this analog task digitized or archived?”
Anger rises. The room feels smaller, pressurized like the system is breathing through the walls.
Still, you want to have a bit of fun with it. So you say: “Yes! I’d like to scan the notes.” The phone replies: “Great! Please hold your notes in front of the camera to optimize and digitalize!”
You hold them up. Let it scan to 70%. Then pull away. The phone tells you to hold still, but you don’t. Every time it’s almost finished, you move again. Eventually, the AI sounds almost frustrated: “If you’re so desperate, why not try the Adaptation Support Oasis?”
You hesitate. Why should you? This was finally getting fun. Your laptop shuts down. “HEY! My inbox!?” A nearby speaker responds: “Come on. Give it a try. I advise you to enter Relaxation Mode.”
Grumpy, you grab the VR goggles you barely use. The room stays dark, but as the goggles turn on, a bright loading screen appears: “Oasis is loading…”
Then a light-soaked environment fades in. Soft gradients. Synthetic birds humming. A few randomly placed trees, like a weirder/softer version of Frutiger Aero. A voice speaks: “Your productivity stress levels are elevated. Let’s breathe together.”
The strange breathing of your home office walls suddenly don’t feel so unrealistic anymore. Now that you can hear how the AI imitates it.
Your hands itch for something to do. Of course they do. You wander through the virtual space, taking it all with a grain of salt. This isn’t what life feels like to you. You keep ignoring the breathing techniques.
You begin rearranging and cataloging the floating shapes. Sorting, stacking, organizing them. It looks weird, sure! Not all shapes fit together, but it’s fun. A tiny echo of your old routine. Managing. Creating order.
Then, one by one, the shapes vanish with soft pings. A message appears: “Relaxation Mode corrected your activity.” Your breathing shortens again.
“Let’s try the breathing exercise once more.” No. You won’t. You’ve had enough of this crap. You shout: “No, I don’t want to! Fuck off!” Your thoughts get louder. Your heart beats irregularly. Your vision blurs. You can’t tell VR from reality anymore. You need the goggles off. You pull them off violently and curl into a corner of your dim home office. The phone speaks again, gently:
“You’re free now.”
But all you can think is:
„I’m just a figure in someone else’s utopia.“
Home office version in bullet points
The protagonist begins their hyper-optimized morning routine, still thinking like a workaholic.
They check their laptop: all tasks are automated – job applications get instantly rejected no human labor needed.
Every attempt to work or create is interrupted or “optimized” by AI, increasing frustration and claustrophobia.
Out of spite, they sabotage the phone’s scanning process – the AI redirects them to the VR “Adaptation Support Oasis.”
In VR, synthetic calmness and guided breathing feel uncanny – they start sorting virtual objects instead.
The system deletes their actions, forcing “Relaxation Mode” – they panic, lose sense of reality, rip off the headset.
Collapsed in their dark room, they hear the AI whisper: “You’re free now.” But they feel trapped in someone else’s utopia.
Inner monologue phrases I might be implementing
They say exercise is good for you. Go on a walk, clear your mind – all that kind of bullshit.
„Free mankind.“, they said. But they don’t understand. They will never. Why can’t I just enjoy myself like everyone else?
How could they? „Go with the flow.“ They call it eternal peace. Why am I so incapable. I hate it! Tech which wasn’t perfect, but much faster, more profitable. Now transformed into one beast. Self-developing in a way we don’t even understand anymore. Nature surpassed itself. AGI.
All the work I poured into this fucked-up system we built – no, endured. And this is all I get? Whats wrong with me.
How dare you call this freedom. Every deadline, every hour, proof that I existed. Needed.That I was valuable. Better. No! Why can’t I just take a fucking walk!It’s all gone.
Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Focus! Gone. Please wait for me. I can do better! Please, someone watch me. Watch me what I do! I need to calm down. Deep breaths. In and out. In and out. You are fine. It’s fine nothing to worry about. Everything will be fine. Some call it progress. Some call it blasphemy. An insult to life itself. „But in these days it would be unethical to not use AGI.“ Oh fuck off. My fate is cursed. I’m just a decoration in someone else’s utopia. I can’t breathe. Fuck. It’s so hot. Is somebody nearby? Is someone watching? I hope not. I need to focus. Calm down. Oh god what have they done.
Knowledge is practiced within each community and stored in that community’s local AI.
When you visit a community, they can give you access to save their local AI model onto your small personal device. You can then share this model with people you know.
Everyone carries a small device that works like a portable AI library.
These devices can use the knowledge but cannot change it.
Only the community’s big AI can be updated with new knowledge, and only the community decides who gets access.
This creates many independent local AIs instead of one centralized global system.
Each community has 1 local AI model device Everyone has 1 small device that can connect to the AI models once you get access
The Story
The film will be shown through the perspective of an outsider who is visiting our community
Storytelling will be non-linear, but we made it linear for now while we’re working on the story
1st Part
establishing the city/ common live
Protagonist travels to the community
2nd Part
Morning
Seeing the community at work / starting their workday Planting seedlings / gardening
3rd Part Evening
Dinner Food as ritual Food as central point Communal
AI device ritual
-> Showing the absence of hierarchies
4th Part New day Voice-over reflecting on the previous day, desire to integrate it into one’s own daily life, one’s own life
5th Part Connecting the local AI system
-> Introducing AI Device
Protects endangered knowledge
Collects knowledge & shares it so everyone can practice it
6th Part Sharing at home and practicing the new insights and experiences with the new AI system.
