Merger by Keiichi Matsuda
Oh, lord! Where to begin with this flick? This is sci-fi short is freaking terrifying!
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the massive amounts of data at your job and the interconnected nature of the modern workplace? Do you stay up at night dreaming of spreadsheets and wondering how in hell you will keep up with the demands of the job. Our heroine in this film finds herself in just this position and the way she solves the problem cuts to the core of who we are, or perhaps I should say, who we as a species must become when humans can no longer keep up with the AIs driving the techno-economy.
In this film, businesses function through self-replicating algorithms and the weakest link is the human link. How do you keep your edge and remain useful when AIs can complete every job function you perform in nanoseconds? Adapt, improvise, overcome, is a mantra for the US Marine Corps, but what happens when the problem is humanity? What happens when the worlds fastest typing speed of 212 wpm just doesn’t cut it?
At this point, we either all become philosophers living on basic income, or it’s time to merge with the machine…
This is a 360/VR short so don’t forget that you can watch this film from any angle!