The Joy of AI

Cyborgs: Human Machines

May 2017 •English

Over the past few years, technology has improved our lives in so many ways. Now, some people, called trans-humanists, are taking the next logical step - they are fusing their bodies with digital implants to increase their abilities and expand their senses - they are becoming, in effect, real life cyborgs. How is life going to change for us all if some people have supernatural powers?

Machine of Human Dreams

June 2016 •English

A.I. guru Ben Goertzel grew up in a hippie community in Oregon during the Vietnam War. Inspired by science fiction, he imagined a perfect rational world that would transcend 1970s’ America. Ben has dedicated his life to developing OpenCog, a software that models the human mind. If Ben’s design works, OpenCog will become a human-like general intelligence. But for OpenCog to work, it needs a body.

Koyaanisqatsi

April 1983 •English

Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.

The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley

January 2019 •English

With a magical new invention that promised to revolutionize blood testing, Elizabeth Holmes became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, heralded as the next Steve Jobs. Then, overnight, her 10-billion-dollar company dissolved. The rise and fall of Theranos is a window into the psychology of fraud.

Connected

April 2016 •English

Follow Barbara Dunkelman and Blaine Gibson as they must survive their work, their social lives and the modern world without the comfort of their cell phones in order to explore how our brains change with our use of technology and analyze how we sustain and build relationships in the 21st century.

Land of White Alice

January 1960 •English

Film sponsored by Western Electric (AT&T's equipment manufacturing division), the builder of the United States Air Force's White Alice Communications System in Alaska. Introduces the people and geography of the new state as well as the Western Electric radio-relay system, which links far-flung military sites, alert stations, and missile-warning facilities. Ralph Caplan praised the film's "intrinsically dramatic and highly photogenic" portrayal of communications equipment.

TGV Paris-Bordeaux, la ligne de tous les records

November 2021 •French

Before Macintosh: The Apple Lisa

January 2024 •English

Explores the history, technology, people, stories and industry influence of this lesser-known personal computer. The film profiles important individuals involved in the creation of the computer, plus its life after cancellation, both as an entry-level Macintosh compatible and as a collectible. The work of Douglas Engelbart and his team, plus advances from the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) with their Alto and Star workstations were the initial innovators of the Graphical User Interface (GUI), but the Apple Lisa stands as the clear foundation for what we all use today -- Macintosh -- Windows -- iOS -- Android.

Intelligenza artificiale - Una rivoluzione per l'umanità ?

July 2023 •Italian

A journey into the world of artificial intelligence, to understand its operating logic and current and future applications. The TV program explains what AI is, its history, its current and future applications. It also illustrates the figure of Pepper, a humanoid robot that is the subject of important research at the University of Palermo. The TV program also talks about future developments of AI, the opportunities and possible social risks that it could entail: an aspect to focus on, both for the need to arrive at a correct algorithm, and to achieve an indispensable regulation of the sector.

Peep Culture

February 2011 •English

Pop culture has become “Peep Culture”, where we’ve traded privacy for notoriety and, in the process, reinvented mass culture. But what does it all mean and how is it changing us? Hal Niedzviecki, a 38 year old husband and father, plunges into “deep peep”, with webcams exposing his every move and millions of potential internet viewers invited to watch and engage in the spectacle.

DCC.....There Is Still Music Left To Write

June 2019 •English

A documentary about the past, present and potential future of the Digital Compact Cassette. Very few people know the true story about, the Digital Compact Cassette or DCC. Was DCC's audio compression the grandfather of all compressed audio formats today? Why did it have such a short life? Why didn't it become popular in more countries? The early termination of the format in 1996, leading to the rejuvenation in 2014 by Techmoan and later the DCCmuseum in countries that rejected the format before. Nearly 2 years of research allowed us to finally get the truth about DCC on camera, presenting DCC enthusiasts the past, present, and potential future of the format we love. This documentary is about the format, the creators, the decision makers, the musicians, the collectors, the geeks, and the audiophiles behind DCC.

An Eye on You: Citizens Under Surveillance

Invalid date •English

Do any areas of our lives escape surveillance any more? Citizens of the 21st Century are the focus of prying eyes, whether they agree to it or not.

Look at Life: Figure It Out

January 1963 •English

The story of computers: from electronic tape and punched cards, to austere-looking robots.

Shenzhen: The Silicon Valley of Hardware

July 2016 •English

We examine the unique manufacturing ecosystem that has emerged, gaining access to the world’s leading hardware-prototyping culture whilst challenging misconceptions from the west. The film looks at how the evolution of “Shanzhai” – or copycat manufacturing – has transformed traditional models of business, distribution and innovation, and asks what the rest of the world can learn from this so-called “Silicon Valley of hardware".

Revolution OS

March 2001 •English

REVOLUTION OS tells the inside story of the hackers who rebelled against the proprietary software model and Microsoft to create GNU/Linux and the Open Source movement.

1999 A.D.

January 1967 •English

A whimsical yet serious-minded look into the future sponsored by the appliance and radio manufacturer Philco-Ford. In the "1999 House of Tomorrow", each family member's activities are enabled by a central computer and revolve around products remarkably similar to those made by the sponsor. Power comes from a self-contained fuel cell which supports environmental controls, an automatic cooking system, and a computer-assisted "education room".

Autonomy

March 2019 •English

A cinematic exploration of the world of automated vehicles — from their technical history to the personal narratives of those affected by them to the many unanswered questions about how this technology will affect modern society. This documentary features interviews with industry pioneers and scenes with cutting-edge “AVs” in action around the world.

Human Nature

March 2019 •English

The biggest tech revolution of the 21st century isn’t digital, it’s biological. A breakthrough called CRISPR gives us unprecedented control over the basic building blocks of life. It opens the door to curing disease, reshaping the biosphere, and designing our own children. This documentary is a provocative exploration of CRISPR’s far-reaching implications, through the eyes of the scientists who discovered it, the families it’s affecting, and the genetic engineers who are testing its limits.

Best of Luck with the Wall

October 2016 •English

A video directed by Josh Begley shows the preposterous effort that would be required to build a border wall.

Testerep

March 2024 •English

A team of scientists search for the lost island of Testerep in front of the Belgian coast, venturing into artificial landscapes and virtual realities.