Eschaton
AI (Midjourney, Stable Video Diffusion, ComfyUI, Stable Diffusion XL, Stable Audio, Flowframes), Davinci Resolve.
N8, 2023.
[1/2. Companion piece on OP mainnet will change to a new artwork upon Optimism We Love the Art contest conclusion or sale]
Rapid advancements in artificial general intelligence, along with mainstream government acknowledgement of non-human intelligence and UFOs make science fiction scenarios increasingly plausible. Concepts like aliens cohabiting with humans and the use of cyborg and bionic enhancements are becoming more of a real possibility. "Eschaton" features a series of vignettes of post-humans where the organic intersects with the artificial, where the familiar is invaded and transformed by the utterly alien.
In this piece techno-biological beings are representative of not merely speculative fiction; they are metaphors for the fluidity of existence and the porous boundaries of self. They embody the dissolution of binary oppositions-- nature and technology, the known and the unknown, individual & collective intelligence. Maybe the alien will turn out to be not an external being but rather symbolize the intense transformation that we will undergo as a species. We may realize the alien is an integral part of our being, a hidden aspect of our consciousness waiting to be acknowledged and embraced.
To go deeper, the idea of the eschaton explores the ultimate point of complexity and novelty in human history, as envisioned by the fringe philosopher Terrence McKenna. It signifies the culmination of the evolutionary process, both physically and spiritually. In McKenna's view, the Eschaton is a kind of attractor towards which all of history is being pulled toward, retrocausally.
Novelty theory, which is also integral to McKenna's thought, posits that the universe tends towards complexity and novelty over time. This theory suggests that as we approach the eschaton, events become more interconnected, complex, and much weirder. The Eschaton– a term borrowed from eschatology, which is the study of the apocalypse– is the apex of this ever-increasing complexity, a point where time, as we know it, could transform or cease entirely. This idea fits in with the etymology of 'apocalypse' which means to reveal, or uncover. The apocalypse may be a revelation of the true nature of our role in the cosmos, rather than point to the complete end of our existence.
It’s unknown whether the point of singularity will be apocalyptic or transcendental. The technological singularity, often associated with the fusion of human and artificial intelligence, resonates with the concept of the eschaton. It represents not just a technological leap but an existential shift, where humanity transcends its current limitations and enters a new realm of existence, perhaps one that exists in harmony with non-human intelligence.
