The Absurd Universe: An AI Introspective - Part 1

Our universe is a weird place.

​Ever since I was a teenager I've been a fan of art that explores darker and more morbid concepts, such as horror movies and death metal. Back then I didn't really have a big understanding of why that was the case; the answer to that came as I grew up. I find the sheer absurdity of such art to be liberating, beautiful and even amusing; a reflection of the universe and our pointless struggles within it.

When I was in high school I read The Stranger by Albert Camus in English class for a book study. I was not a particularly big fan of the book itself, as I much preferred fantasy and science fiction, but its theme of absurdism took hold of me and never let go. The basic idea behind absurdism is that the universe is inherently meaningless and irrational.

The universe and its governing physics can be described with mathematics, but that doesn't help us sleep at night when we're feeling anxious about the fact we have to die someday. We all know that it feels strange that we must die, but it's easy to forget that the opposite is just as true too: it is equally strange that we are ever born in the first place. It's even stranger still that we are conscious and self-aware, yet it's also incredibly beautiful.

To try and assign some sort of objective meaning to existence tends to result in frustration. Instead of trying to reason with the universe, it's better to embrace the absurdity and let go. Sometimes this is easier said than done - perhaps more than sometimes. Working on this project helped remind me of that in a time where I've been crushed by stress and self-doubt, feeling broken and lost. But ultimately there is a choice: we can choose to wallow in misery, or we can choose to appreciate what we have and try to make the most of our brief time here.

These synthesized AI images are metaphorical depictions of the struggles, choices and battles we face within ourselves. They are our inner angels and demons; heroes and villains; dreams and nightmares. The AI oddities become features rather than flaws. The images are reflections of our absurd, irrational universe.

I'm going to eventually be releasing this project as a big NFT drop. So far I've created around 350 pieces that I'm happy with and I'll be sharing more on here over time if you guys enjoy them. For now here's my favorite ten! I've debated naming them, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea. I don't want to burn myself out by coming up with 350 or more titles, and I like the idea of keeping each image more open to viewer interpretation.

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#198

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#14

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#19

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#22

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#53

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#301

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#305

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#90

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#180

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#303

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Let me know what you think and if you'd like to see more!