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The Traveller
The Traveller (2024)[12] is a multifaceted installation that combines AI, film and sculpture to explore time-travel narratives and speculative fiction. The work consists of a four-part, four-channel film (Fig. 4) accompanied by a series of objects. In the film a narrator recounts his story of time traveling to the future. The film's parts, each of which form a section or chapter in an overall narrative but can be viewed out of order, are exhibited in the space of the installation to play simultaneously on loop. This creates a cacophony of sound: multiple music tracks that rise and fall to evoke various conflicting emotions, such as sadness, happiness, fear, excitement or simultaneously create tension and relief; a monologue of overlapping spoken narrative that is heard in jumbled, rambling snippets and becomes difficult to follow. The objects exhibited alongside the film's parts serve as artefacts from the film's narrative. Artefacts that are either shown directly in the film, mentioned by the narrator or are related to details he refers to. These are displayed on plinths in display cases.
The Traveller, part four Figure 5: Screenshot of The Traveller, part four.
The work draws its inspiration from a peculiar phenomenon that emerged on YouTube in late 2017: the accounts of self-proclaimed time-travellers, including a figure known as Noah, who claimed to have journeyed back from the future. The individuals, presented in anonymous, talking-head video interviews, shared detailed descriptions of their supposed travels through time. Their narratives covered a wide range of topics, from the unfolding of world events to the shape of future societies. Over the span of approximately two years, these time-travel accounts proliferated online, capturing the attention of both the public and media. The videos, often replete with predictions, purported evidence of future events and assertions about the authenticity of the travellers' statements, sparked widespread curiosity and debate. However, as time passed and the predictions failed to materialise, these accounts were largely discredited, leaving behind a digital trail of speculative fiction that blurred the line between reality and fantasy, truth and fiction.
Similar to I'm not Garrett Lynch IRL – DoppelGANger Portraits, TheLastStraw and Flag for States of Damage discussed above language serves as a medium that enables a process of folding in The Traveller. The process is split into three-stages to create the work and began with data harvesting.[13] The AI-generated subtitles from numerous YouTube talking-head video interviews of time-travelers were extracted with a Python[14] script to serve as the raw material for the work. These subtitles, often rife with inaccuracies and peculiar phrasings, were then fed into a Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT-2), an AI model capable of generating contextually relevant text. Some manual sequencing, rearranging statements or sections, was then employed to complete the first stage of the process. The result is a speculative narrative text that is often informal, disjointed and confusing due to the combination of being extracted from the subtitles of multiple videos that are AI-generated from voice and then used as input for an AI to generate a final text. The text is employed in the film as a script for the narrator and appears as both subtitles and text-to-speech audio using an AI-generated voice.
In the second stage of the process the generated text is used, line-by-line, as prompts for an AI to source freely licensed stock video online. The stock videos are not AI generated, instead the AI interprets the meaning of each line of the text and attempts to match that meaning with keywords associated with the stock videos. Results are returned in an order that ranks stronger matches first. Similar to the final step in the first stage of the process described in the paragraph above that allows me to make final sequencing choices in the generated text I select one stock video from each search result. The choice is not necessarily based on the highest ranked result but is dependent on the video's style, tone, acting or any other factor that will enable a better final edit. All of the selected videos are finally edited together with the AI-generated text as subtitles and text-to-speech audio, and freely licensed music is added.
The third and final stage of the process of folding employed in creating The Traveller is for the creation of the objects in the installation. Imagery and language are folded out of the 'virtual', or fictional, space and digital media of the film to create 'real' or material artefacts. A number of techniques and processes are employed in the creation of the artefacts, which broadly adhere to a method of either reproducing/creating what is directly seen in the film or creating based on details the narrator refers to. A top secret document seen in a shot in the film is reproduced and printed; a 3D animated model is 3D printed and painted (Fig. 6); non-functioning mobile phone sim cards are crafted from various materials; a video home system (VHS) cassette tape is assembled from two sourced cassettes to resemble the cassette seen in the film; a secure digital (SD) memory card is sourced, an identical label is affixed to the card and time-stamped photos from the future are uploaded to it; while two lapel pins, a political campaign badge (Fig. 7) and one hundred thousand dollars in a military-style tactical suitcase are created with the likeness and name of a personage seen and spoken about in the film.
The Traveller, 3D print Figure 6: The Traveller, 3D print of a 3D animated model.
The Traveller, lapel pins and political campaign badge Figure 7: The Traveller, two lapel pins and a political campaign badge.
In The Traveller I continue and intensify the blurring of truth and fiction that occurs in the talking-head video interviews that inspired the work. The work takes a critical look at how AI and networked media can reshape narratives, particularly those that exist on the fringes of truth. By transforming the discredited talking-head video interview narratives using AI the work reimagines and reconstructs them as a fiction of science fictions that occupies a space between virtuality and materiality. Through the process of folding described, the fragmented and disparate accounts are woven together into a cohesive narrative, one that echoes the original stories but is also distinctly shaped by the AI's interpretative logic. This new narrative, while rooted in the original material, takes on a life of its own, combining elements from various accounts into a single, synthesised one. The result is a narrative that feels both familiar and strange, an uncanny reflection of the time-travellers' original tales, now rendered through the lens of AI.
The film, replicates styles seen in combinations of news reporting, documentary, marketing videos and, of course, stock videos, creating a visual style that is inconsistent and contradictory. Edited in a style reminiscent of video essays it is intended to create an unsettling experience for the viewer. The choice of this style is deliberate, as video essays are a popular format on platforms like YouTube, often used to convey complex ideas in an accessible and persuasive manner. By adopting this format, it mimics the aesthetics of online truth-seeking communities, further blurring the line between reality and fantasy, truth and fiction. The voice-over, with its synthetic cadence, adds an additional layer of estrangement, making it clear that the narrative is a product of AI interpretation rather than human recollection. The artefacts created are each forms that have been materialised from the 'virtual', digital film. Given that stock footage, such as the stock footage used in the film, often employs fabricated scenarios and objects, what are effectively props, this means that the created artefacts frequently have no originals. Strategies such as simulation, imitation, forgery and counterfeiting are employed to create them so that they serve as evidence of the narrative revealed in the film.
Combined, the film's visual style, sound and the artefacts are intended to create a layered, immersive narrative environment that is as much shaped by AI as it is by human interaction. What emerges from this complex interplay of AI and human intervention is a narrative that, on the surface, strives to convince the viewer of the time-traveler's truth. The film is presented with a level of seriousness and conviction that mirrors the tone of the original videos, complete with voice-over narration, subtitles, and carefully selected footage. Yet, as the narrative unfolds, it becomes clear that what the viewer is witnessing could not possibly be a true account of time travel as it is comprised of a composite of science fiction tropes and clichés. The narrative is riddled with familiar elements, dystopian futures, advanced technologies and apocalyptic events, that are staples of speculative fiction. These tropes, when presented in such a convincing manner, highlight the duality of digital media as both representation and reality reflecting on the broader cultural phenomenon of misinformation and the role of technology in its dissemination. The work challenges the viewer to question the authenticity of the information they consume and to consider the ways in which AI and networked media can be used to fabricate convincing yet ultimately fictional narratives. In turn it is intended to challenge the viewer's perception of reality where the distinction between truth and fiction is increasingly difficult to discern.
12. Documentation of The Traveller can be viewed online at: https://www.asquare.org/the-traveller/. 13. Data harvesting is a programatic technique of extracting content, such as text or images, that is embedded in media. 14. Python is a programming language that is frequently employed in data harvesting and AI.
 
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Prompt Expand the following text: "The Traveller is an installation consisting of a four-part, four-channel film with accompanying objects/sculptures. It is based on the accounts of Noah and other self-proclaimed time-travellers, which were uploaded to YouTube in late 2017. In these videos, individuals are interviewed in an anonymous talking-head style telling of their travel back from the future, how world events will develop and what the society of the future will be like. With periodic uploads over approximately two years the time-travelling accounts gathered media attention through their frequent predictions, production of various forms of evidence of the future and the testing of the authenticity of the traveller’s statements. Having since been largely discredited, the accounts have become a form of speculative fiction. In the film The Traveller the accounts have been transformed, visualised and re-sonified with AI into a fiction of science fictions. Using data harvesting techniques the AI generated subtitles on YouTube were extracted from numerous videos, passed through a Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT-2) text generating model to compose them as a complete narrative and finally used as source for AI to generate the spoken-word narration and the edited video. What is created is the result of networked media and the interconnection or networking of various AI with the artist only intervening in the final sequencing process. The film is presented through voice-over, subtitles and sourced footage in a style common to video essays to convince the viewer of the traveller’s truth. Yet what quickly emerges is a composite of science fiction tropes and clichés that create a post-truth narrative."
AI Response Certainly! Here's an expanded version of the text:
The Traveller: An AI-Driven Exploration of Time-Travel Narratives and Post-Truth Fiction The Traveller is a multifaceted installation that blends film, sculpture, and AI to explore the boundaries between truth and fiction in the digital age. This ambitious work consists of a four-part, four-channel film accompanied by a series of objects and sculptures, creating an immersive environment that challenges the viewer's perception of reality. The installation draws its inspiration from a peculiar phenomenon that emerged on YouTube in late 2017: the accounts of self-proclaimed time-travelers, including a figure known as "Noah," who claimed to have journeyed back from the future.
These individuals, who presented themselves in anonymous, talking-head interviews, shared detailed descriptions of their supposed travels through time. Their narratives covered a wide range of topics, from the unfolding of world events to the intricacies of future societies. Over the span of approximately two years, these time-travel accounts proliferated online, capturing the attention of both the public and the media. The videos, often replete with predictions, purported evidence of future events, and assertions about the authenticity of the travelers' statements, sparked widespread curiosity and debate. However, as time passed and the predictions failed to materialize, these accounts were largely discredited, leaving behind a digital trail of speculative fiction that blurred the line between reality and fantasy.
In The Traveller, Garrett Lynch IRL transforms these discredited narratives into a new form of artistic expression, using AI to reimagine and reconstruct the stories as a "fiction of science fictions." The installation takes a critical look at how AI and networked media can reshape narratives, particularly those that exist on the fringes of truth. To achieve this, Lynch employs a sophisticated process that begins with data harvesting. The AI-generated subtitles from numerous YouTube videos featuring the time-travelers were extracted, serving as the raw material for the work. These subtitles, often rife with inaccuracies and peculiar phrasings, were then fed into a Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT-2), a powerful AI model capable of generating coherent and contextually relevant text.
Through this process, the fragmented and disparate accounts were woven together into a cohesive narrative, one that echoes the original stories but is also distinctly shaped by the AI's interpretative logic. This new narrative, while rooted in the original material, takes on a life of its own, combining elements from various accounts into a single, synthesized story. The result is a narrative that feels both familiar and alien—an uncanny reflection of the time-travelers' original tales, now rendered through the lens of machine learning.
The AI-generated text was not the final product, however. Lynch further utilized AI to generate the spoken-word narration that accompanies the film, as well as the edited video footage. The voice-over, with its synthetic cadence, adds an additional layer of estrangement, making it clear that the narrative is a product of machine interpretation rather than human recollection. The video itself, edited in a style reminiscent of video essays, combines sourced footage with AI-generated visuals, creating a seamless yet unsettling experience for the viewer. The choice of this style is deliberate, as video essays are a popular format on platforms like YouTube, often used to convey complex ideas in an accessible and persuasive manner. By adopting this format, The Traveller mimics the aesthetics of online truth-seeking communities, further blurring the line between reality and fiction.
What emerges from this complex interplay of AI and human intervention is a narrative that, on the surface, strives to convince the viewer of the time-traveler's truth. The film is presented with a level of seriousness and conviction that mirrors the tone of the original videos, complete with voice-over narration, subtitles, and carefully selected footage. Yet, as the narrative unfolds, it becomes clear that what the viewer is witnessing is not a true account of time travel, but rather a composite of science fiction tropes and clichés. The narrative is riddled with familiar elements—dystopian futures, advanced technologies, and apocalyptic events—that are staples of speculative fiction. These tropes, when presented in such a convincing manner, highlight the malleability of truth in the digital age, where the distinction between fact and fiction is increasingly difficult to discern.
In essence, The Traveller is a meditation on the nature of post-truth in contemporary media. By using AI to reconstruct and reinterpret the discredited time-travel accounts, Lynch not only critiques the original narratives but also reflects on the broader cultural phenomenon of misinformation and the role of technology in its dissemination. The work challenges the viewer to question the authenticity of the information they consume and to consider the ways in which AI and networked media can be used to fabricate convincing yet ultimately fictional narratives.
Moreover, The Traveller raises important questions about the role of the artist in the age of AI. In this work, Lynch's role is less about creating from scratch and more about curating, sequencing, and framing the output generated by AI. The artist intervenes primarily in the final sequencing process, allowing the AI to take the lead in the narrative construction. This shift in the creative process underscores the evolving relationship between humans and machines in art-making, where the boundaries of authorship are increasingly fluid.
Ultimately, The Traveller is a compelling exploration of how AI can be used to manipulate and reinterpret narrative forms, creating new layers of meaning and challenging the viewer's perception of truth. Through this installation, Garrett Lynch IRL invites us to reflect on the power of AI not just as a tool for generating content, but as a force that can reshape our understanding of reality itself.
This expanded version goes into greater detail about the conceptual framework behind The Traveller, the methods used by Garrett Lynch IRL, and the broader implications of the work in terms of media, AI, and post-truth narratives.
Prompt Using the following quoted text in double inverted commas (the text generated above) as source discuss how the artwork, The Traveller, employs language to enable a process of folding (O’Sullivan, 2005) or flipping (Sloan, 2012) of concepts, media and artefacts between virtual and real spaces, between digital and materialised forms.
AI Response In The Traveller, Garrett Lynch IRL masterfully employs language as a tool to enable a process of folding (O'Sullivan, 2005) and flipping (Sloan, 2012) of concepts, media, and artefacts, seamlessly transitioning between virtual and real spaces, between digital and materialized forms. The artwork blends digital and physical elements—AI-generated narratives, film, and sculpture—into a cohesive experience that constantly navigates the boundaries of reality and fiction. By integrating AI to process discredited time-travel accounts, Lynch highlights the fluidity of truth in the digital age and the potential of technology to reshape narratives.
Language serves as the core medium that activates this transformative process. In The Traveller, the AI-driven use of language, specifically through the extraction and manipulation of YouTube video subtitles, reflects the duality of digital media as both representation and reality. The disjointed, speculative narratives of self-proclaimed time travelers are harvested from the virtual realm of YouTube and passed through a GPT-2 model, where they are reconfigured into a single synthesized narrative. This narrative, while rooted in real-time digital artifacts, is reformulated into an artistic "fiction of science fictions" that occupies a space between virtuality and materiality.
Folding Between Virtual and Real: A Dialogue of Spaces In the context of Lynch's work, folding (O’Sullivan, 2005) refers to the way the narrative and its associated media bend between virtual and physical realities. By pulling AI-generated text from digital platforms and then embedding it within a physical installation—comprising a four-channel film and physical objects—Lynch initiates a constant folding between these two realms. The narrative, which exists as a series of speculative claims online, is brought into the physical space of the gallery. This act of transitioning from digital platforms to a tangible, curated form reflects a dynamic process where the boundaries between virtual and real are blurred, constantly folding into one another.
The use of AI further exemplifies this folding mechanism. AI-generated subtitles extracted from YouTube and run through a GPT-2 model create an entirely new text that serves as the backbone of the film's narration. In this case, the raw, imperfect digital artifacts—subtitles with peculiar phrasings and inaccuracies—are folded into the AI’s interpretative logic to produce something novel. This transformation of digital language into a cohesive narrative brings attention to the malleability of digital media, showing how something ephemeral and abstract, like YouTube subtitles, can be folded into an artwork with physical presence and cultural resonance.
Moreover, the layering of language in multiple forms—spoken-word AI narration, subtitles, and visual imagery—adds to the complexity of folding. The voice-over, synthesized by AI, reinforces the virtual origins of the narrative while grounding it in a cinematic format that mirrors video essays often found on digital platforms like YouTube. The subtitles accompanying the visuals act as both a representation of the original discredited narratives and as a digital artifact that is part of a broader commentary on the creation of "truth" in the post-truth era. This multi-layered use of language creates a sense of continual folding between the digital and the material, allowing Lynch to explore how media shifts meaning and form in different contexts.
Flipping Concepts: From Speculative Fiction to Post-Truth Narrative The process of flipping (Sloan, 2012), or the act of turning concepts and realities inside out, is central to the narrative strategy in The Traveller. Here, Lynch flips the notion of "truth" and "fiction" by transforming discredited time-travel stories into something both familiar and alien, constructing a post-truth narrative that reflects contemporary anxieties about misinformation and speculative fiction. These time-travel accounts, once consumed and later debunked by the digital public, are not discarded but are instead reappropriated through AI as fictionalized yet convincing narratives, thereby flipping their original intent. In this process, Lynch demonstrates the capacity of networked media to both create and subvert reality, challenging viewers' perceptions of authenticity.
By employing AI to reconfigure these narratives, Lynch flips the authorship of these stories. Originally told by human "time travelers," the narrative is now co-authored by AI, with Lynch acting as curator rather than primary author. This flipping of creative roles reflects the evolving relationship between human and machine in artistic practice. It also questions the validity of narratives created by AI—how far can we trust a narrative when its creator is an algorithm, a machine learning model? Through this flipping, Lynch challenges the conventional understanding of authorship and reality, suggesting that the lines between human and machine, truth and fiction, are increasingly porous in the digital age.
Furthermore, Lynch flips the common tropes of science fiction into a post-truth commentary. The AI-generated narrative is riddled with familiar elements from speculative fiction—advanced technologies, dystopian futures, and apocalyptic scenarios—yet it is constructed in such a way that it mimics online truth-seeking communities. This flipping between science fiction clichés and serious, truth-seeking aesthetics highlights the malleability of reality in networked media. By adopting the persuasive style of video essays, Lynch creates a convincing yet unsettling narrative that flips our expectations of what is true and what is fictional in digital media.
Conclusion: Language as a Tool for Folding and Flipping In The Traveller, language plays a fundamental role in facilitating the folding and flipping of virtual and real spaces, and of concepts between truth and fiction. By employing AI to harvest and reinterpret digital narratives, Lynch creates a layered experience where media is constantly bending between different forms, challenging viewers to question the nature of truth in an increasingly digital world. The folding of digital artifacts into a physical installation, combined with the flipping of narrative tropes and authorship, positions The Traveller as a critical exploration of how language and AI can reshape our understanding of reality.
Ultimately, The Traveller demonstrates how AI and language can be used to create a dynamic interplay between virtual and material spaces, offering new perspectives on how narratives are constructed, mediated, and transformed in the digital age. Through this process of folding and flipping, Lynch invites us to engage critically with the stories we consume, encouraging us to reflect on the nature of truth and the power of AI in reshaping our perceptions of the world.