I have produced an AI film. My first attempt. Enjoy.
31 July 2026 – As my long-term readers know, I take the old Spanish proverb to heart, both in my professional life and in my personal life:
Or as one of my favorite writers noted:
“A desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world”.
-John le Carré, in The Honourable Schoolboy
le Carré was correct. I am seeped in technology. Much of the technology I read about or see at conferences I also force myself “to do”. Because writing about technology is not “technical writing.” It is about framing a concept, about creating a narrative. Technology affects people both positively and negatively. You need to provide perspective. You need to actually “do” the technology.
But it applies to all things. In many cases I venture onto ground where I’ve no guarantee of safety or of academic legitimacy, so it’s not my intention to pass myself off as a scholar, nor as someone of dazzling erudition. It has been enough for me to act as a complier and sifter of a huge base of knowledge, and then offer my own interpretations and reflections on that knowledge.
No doubt the old dream that once motivated Condorcet, Diderot, or D’Alembert has become unrealizable – the dream of holding the basic intelligibility of the world in one’s hand, of putting together the fragments of the shattered mirror in which we never tire of seeking the image of our humanity.
And today: artificial intelligence. AI is transcending our current understanding of science and media and all other things, and lifting it higher.
So I just decided to “do it”. Over the year I bought several AI movie production software tools for pre-production, all-in-one cinematic generation workspaces, and foundational video generation engines. They are expensive and complex, with a steep learning curve. But I’d say my team and I have become prompt experts.
But I wanted to start out slow. The movie you are about to see is a learning process, a simple narrative (if you can even call it a narrative) in preparation for our development of two more complex, complicated, and intricate AI movie projects.
And I opted for the highest quality – 4K. So it will look good on your phone, your laptop or iPad, and your flat screen TV.
What you are about to see is completely AI-generated – except for the Luminative Media logo at the end. That is the level of the AI tech we used. And I used but a fraction of its capabilities.
Oh, and a special thanks to my Executive Producer, Paul Mandell, who makes an appearance in the film. And to my eDiscovery colleagues who also make an appearance – though not knowingly 😎
Please enjoy, and if you feel compelled, email me a review/comment: [email protected]
More from me later in the summer.