I’ll keep beating the drum that science and humanity can either work together or work against each other. Good science fiction explores and exploits these conflicts as technology advances at warp speed.
In Mia Holly Kim’s sci-fi short, How Soon is Now, Nick (Keon Alexander) is a grieving neural engineer who is tasked with creating a realistic AI personality to pose as the company’s CEO to save it from financial ruin and scandal. Nick’s current interaction with Wen (Chanell Bell) is about as “perfect” as you can get, and his bosses plan to proceed with Nick’s CEO deception.
“…tasked with creating a realistic AI personality to pose as the company’s CEO…”
Meanwhile, at home, Nick is dealing with the loss of his spouse. Before he begins to lose his grip on reality, he receives an errant company help center call from Tanita (Palome Garcia-Lee). Tanny has just gone through a breakup, and Nick, who is emotionally ripe, gives her some painfully honest advice.
As a film, How Soon is Now feels very futuristic—like a few years into the future. Though the film addresses the potential for AI-perpetrated fraud as Deepfakes gets better and better, Nick’s story is the foundation of this story.
How Soon is Now delves deep into the themes of grief and loss and how we navigate through them without directly confronting our emotions. Will AI eventually become the favored method of avoiding emotional pain? How Soon is Now really makes you think, as writer/director Mia Holly Kim slowly reveals her hand over time.
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