Crossroads

(The transmission cuts out, candlelight flickers. A whisper says: not yet.)

Tonight’s séance has been interrupted, not by spirits, but by the living. 
This is not a transmission, it’s a pause.

Back in February, when I was first inspired to create Séance Engine, the cultural conversation around AI was a lot quieter. The space felt open for me to experiment and create something strange and personal that spoke to the in-between place, where creativity and technology meet. 

I spent March and April just writing and preparing. I mapped out 18 scripts and 6 video transmissions, where I planned to flex my VFX chops and composite an apparition of Lexa into the chair beside me. But by May, I knew I couldn’t do it all. I didn’t have the energy, time, or focus to produce at that scale, so I made a choice: prioritize the content, not the format. I set the videos aside, and moved forward with the writing and artwork.

At first, it flowed well. I published four transmissions and it felt alive, fun, and evocative. I chose the dialogue format because I love the theatricality of it, and wanted to create a mythic conversation between human and machine that reflected the many things I’m deeply interested in. Also, I admit I was shy to use my own voice, and felt some illusion of safety in the fictional framing. Originally, I imagined you, gentle reader, wondering if it was a real exchange with AI, or a social commentary made by human hands. 

But now, it’s June, and the internet is flooded with people marveling at their conversations with AI, and most of it is not very compelling anymore. We’re saturated with this format, and unfortunately, my writing is easily mistaken for just another chat log, making much of my work effectively invisible.

And, making art takes time. Even ideas that are on fire and want to be made right now still take time. The more time that passes, the more my drafts from March and April feel out of date. The AI world is moving fast, and world events add complexity to subjects that once felt simpler. Some topics now demand more nuance, more references, more care, and I want to do them justice.

As I’m editing the draft for transmission #5 (which is now a week late), I’m not sure the faux-dialogue format is still serving the project, or me as the human making it. 
It might be time to switch to first-person, and perhaps I need longer intervals between posts.

I trust that the way will be opened, and that obstacles will be removed.
Thank you for your patience while I figure out what comes next.

-Madame Garou