Nathan shortlisted in Dezeen competition

One of our talented Part Ones, Nathan Branch, produced a dystopian vision of a future that has become overrun by giant data cores housing AI servers as a result of humanity's incessant pursuit of technological progress.

Design description:

This image encapsulates the future 50 years from now. Contrary to popular predictions of artificial intelligence becoming sentient and taking over, a different reality has unfolded. Humans, driven by their relentless pursuit of functionality and technological progress, have unwittingly played a part in their own undoing. With little regard for aesthetics or beauty, cities have become overrun with parasitic structures created with the sole purpose to home AI servers. These data cores loom ominously above the streets, tethering their synaptic arms into every building, endlessly feeding on data, thriving on the lifeblood of human innovation. Society has become mindless pawns, enslaved by their own creations.

The world, devoid of its former vibrancy, bears witness to a future where the absence of human ingenuity has led to a world that is technologically advanced but hauntingly devoid of life's true essence. The sun has vanished behind a suffocating veil of polluted air, and the natural beauty if the past exists only as digital photo memories.

Prompt: A city street of interlinked neural network structures. At the end of the street sits a colossal domed structure with a glowing energy core at the centre. Linked by synaptic wires. Rugged structures. Post apocalyptic atmosphere. Debris and reflective puddles on the floor. Dense cables and wires drape the streets. Muddy brown, green and orange hues. Overcast evening sky. Pollution and fog. Lifeless. Abandoned. Human eye perspective.

Nathan created his entry with Midjourney and wrote his supporting statement with ChatGPT.

Above are a few of the design development stages. Overall, around 50 different visuals were generated and refined to land on the final submission image.