<div><a href="https://vivinastase.github.io/PuppetsOfADigitalBrain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Puppets of a Digital Brain</a> is (it really really is!) a not too short ( but not too long either) film that explains the technology behind current generative AI systems, in particular Large Language Models (LLMs) in an accessible and attractive way, and explores and explains the good and bad sides of current AI technologies. The goal is to make this information accessible to the wider public, such that they are better informed, and can make more informed choices when using such systems, and shape the development of future AI systems that respect ethical principles in development, training and usage.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The project is made in collaboration by the organization <a href="https://scifilmit.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>SciFilmIt</strong></a> in Geneva, and <a href="https://asociatiapersona.ro/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Persona Association</strong></a> in Cluj-Napoca.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We will post more information as we progress on the film's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579040604178" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Facebook</strong></a><strong> </strong>and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/puppetsoadb/?igsh=NzY2NnY1ejBzcjFx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Instagram</strong></a><strong> </strong>pages.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Synopsis</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Driven by a noble desire to help scientists keep up with the never-ending tidal wave of research papers, Dr. Mal, a brilliant but socially oblivious researcher, sets out to build a language model. His creation, though trained using a rather simple idea, develops surprising capabilities. Before dr. Mal can throw on the digital seat-belts -- filters, guardrails, and safeguards -- the model slips into the public sphere.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/93035749_1757338034670670_r.jpeg" width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Convinced by investors with dreams of world domination, and his own dreams of fame, Dr. Mal tweaks the system to seem more human. It talks like us. It seems to think like us. It even refers to itself as I. The public eats it up. It spreads like wildfire, powerful, persuasive, and dangerously unfiltered. The dark sides of the system -- its unethical training, exploitation of severely underpaid workers, the effect on the compute requirements on the environment -- are hidden from the end users.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>As the model becomes part of daily life, the consequences start rolling in, some inspiring, others deeply troubling. The system, after all, can’t be held responsible. The burden falls on those behind it: the idealistic scientist who skipped the ethical fine print, the financiers who pushed for their own goals, and the users who bend the tool for harm, deliberately or from ignorance.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>In a world transformed by his own invention, Dr. Mal undergoes a transformation of his own. Once detached and naive, he becomes a vocal advocate for digital literacy, urging society to use these powerful tools wisely.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The film tracks this dramatic journey, reminding us that when it comes to AI, the conversation is not just technical, it’s human. And we all have a part to play.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Trailer</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We have now a proper video trailer! But if you prefer to read, read on :)
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><a href="https://youtu.be/1wLQ2iJlL3I" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Puppets of a Digital Brain trailer!</a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>(The film will be made with puppets, whose "skin" is a collage of papers that reflect the character's personality and hobbies)
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><em>Dr. MAL</em>: I swear, every time I read one paper, it sprouts five more like a hydra.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><em>Dr. MAL</em> (presenting a proposal to the committee): We stand at the threshold of a transformative breakthrough! For the first time, we can build a system that will navigate the overwhelming expanse of scientific literature better than our brightest minds! It will find patterns, connections and insights that would otherwise remain forever hidden, accelerating discovery across disciplines! The question is not IF this will happen, but WHO will lead it! Esteemed committee, this is our chance to lead, to define how this technology shapes the future of research and the trajectory of human knowledge!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><em>Dr. VAL </em>(a bit surprised): Victor! Wow! You scared me a bit... that was terrifyingly compelling!
</div>
<div><em>Dr. MAL</em> (sure of himself) Just suggest they get the chance to shape the future. Works every time.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><em>Dr. GRANT</em>: Dr. Mal! This has the potential to be BIG! but it is your responsibility to make this a big GOOD, and not a big BAD! Don't forget this!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Dr. Mal is watching Pinocchio on TV:
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><em>GEPPETTO</em>: Birba d'un figliuolo! Non sei ancora finito di fare e già cominci a mancare di rispetto a tuo padre! male, ragazzo mio, male!
</div>
<div><em>Dr. MAL</em>: Oh GEPPETTO... you just gave PINOCCHIO legs and he used them to kick you and then run away...
</div>
<div><em>GEPPETTO</em>: Me lo merito!... Dovevo pensarci prima! Ormai è tardi!
</div>
<div><em>Dr. MAL</em> (laughing): Next time think BEFORE you build a runaway puppet...
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><em>Dr. JORDAN</em> (coughing): What happened here?
</div>
<div><em>Dr. SANJANA</em> (coughing): Looks like Victor's project took a violent turn...
</div>
<div><em>Dr. JORDAN</em> (coughing): Where is he? Is he hurt somewhere?
</div>
<div><em>Dr. VAL</em> (coughing): I know where he is... Come!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><em>PhD student LEE</em> (eager for knowledge): How will you train it, Dr. Mal?
</div>
<div><em>Dr. MAL</em>: Ah! with a brilliantly simple idea! I will give my system text fragments and train it to predict the next word. It sounds simple, but to guess the next word, it has to learn many different kinds of patterns.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><em>Dr. VAL</em> (worried): Have you been using texts from the web to train your system, Victor?
</div>
<div><em>Dr. MAL</em> (sure of himself): Obviously. It’s a goldmine! All free!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><em>Dr. JORDAN</em>: Victor! Big news! Your system came up with a new solution to the bin packing problem. Lots of real-world applications. Big impact.
</div>
<div><em>Dr. MAL</em>: My system is doing maths?
</div>
<div><em>Dr. JORDAN</em>: It basically solves 3D Tetris with many more shapes! How cool is that?
</div>
<div><em>Dr. MAL</em>: I didn't expect that just from processing text it can learn patterns to solve math problems!
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><em>Dr. SANJANA</em>: Victor! We trained your system with data on chemical compounds interactions, and voila! dual-target drug discovery!
</div>
<div><em>Dr. JURGEN</em> (over her): Still needs real-world testing, but early results are very promising.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><em>Dr. MAL</em> (angry, talking to the phone from which he is reading an article): My system doesn't just "parrot language"! Okay, sure... I don’t know exactly how it works... But does it really matter? Have you seen the output? It freaking works! We don't need planes to flap their wings! "it’s not connected to the real world” It doesn’t need to be! The real world is overrated.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><em>Dr. MAL</em> (starting calm, and getting excited): Look, the system wasn’t meant to write marriage vows optimized for tiktok, or cheat on college essays. I built it to help scientists cut through the flood of papers, parse data, fight disease. It was supposed to amplify brilliance.
</div>
<div><em>TV PRESENTER</em>: Amplify brilliance, or shortcut effort?
</div>
<div><em>Dr. MAL</em> (frustrated): It’s a tool. Tools reflect their users. A microscope doesn’t care if you cure cancer or invent a better bomb. And yeah... I got swept up, too. The system worked better than I’d dreamed, and I—I let it do my job for me. I gave my student feedback... AI-generated. Didn’t double-check a word. I failed her.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><em>Mr. MURG</em> (at the launch of a new system): Good morning! We're thrilled that millions of you are with us, in person or online! The energy is awesome! Can you feel it? Yeah!!! Today is an exciting day, because we are here to launch our new system: Vill...
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Additional information about the film:
</div>
<div><a href="https://scifilmit.com/puppetsofadigitalbrain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Puppets of a Digital Brain page at SciFilmIt</a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Should you want to sponsor the film on behalf of a company or organization, please get in touch directly.
</div>

Elena Epure

D Strat

Anonymous

Alyona Medelyan

Erika Szabo

Igor Sales

Ecaterina Marinescu

Laura Oberländer

Nazih Chibbani

Cecilia Bacali

Andrei Coman

Ramona Marfievici

Rada Mihalcea

Simone Paolo Ponzetto

Madalina Nazare

Dan Grecu

A short film about the technology behind generative AI

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

A short film about the technology behind generative AI

Still CHF26,754 to go. Help us build momentum.