Afro Algorithms
The first AI leader of Earth goes on an enchanting journey where she discovers just how limited her programming truly is.
Reprogram the Future
This 3D animated short film in the Afrofuturist genre explores topics of AI and bias. In a distant future, an artificial intelligence named Aero is inaugurated as the world’s first AI leader. However, she soon finds that important worldviews are missing from her databank, including the stories of the historically marginalized and oppressed. A slate of well-known Black artists lend their voices to the film, including Robin Quivers, Hoji Fortuna, and Ava Raiin.
Festivals and Awards
DIRECTOR STATEMENT
Commonly referred to as the lovechild between Black Panther and I, Robot, Afro Algorithms is a short film that explores Afrocentric visions for the future while advocating for a new standard of leadership, the importance of diverse perspectives, how creativity is our greatest superpower, and much more.
While in my senior year at NYU Tisch and in the midst of a global pandemic, I went into a deep dive researching the pros, cons, and controversies of artificial intelligence. I sourced inspiration from books such as Race After Technology by Ruja Benjamin, Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Noble, Artificial Unintelligence by Meredith Broussard, the documentary Coded Bias directed by Shalini Kantayya, and more. I distilled the insights from these studies into Afro Algorithms, with the aim of creating a work of science fiction that at once entertains, enlightens, inspires, and educates.
Whether human beings or machines, we can all learn something from Afro Algorithms. After all, I created this story with the intention of sparking important conversations about race, technology, and where humanity is driving the future of this planet.