Working on a Final Major Project

As some of you may know, I'm currently in my final semester of my Illustration and Design degree! This means I have a final degree show in a couple of months and there I will be showcasing my upcoming comic, Abandon Interest.

This is a story based on George Orwell's book, 1984, and looks at a dystopian AI-centred authoritarian society. The protagonist, Oliver Webster, finds himself complicit in this system, and builds a quiet mental resistance over the years. Only when Elara introduces herself does he start to realise that he has lost everyone to the system he perpetuates.

Now, if you've read 1984, or watched the film, you may know how it ends. My comic will end in a similar way. It is not meant to satisfy the reader with a good ending, but rather allow them to understand the dangers that Artificial Intelligence poses within democracy, and possibly find that our current society and politics is not far different to this fictional story.

(The first scene of the comic)

In Chapter One of Abandon Interest, my main focus is introducing Oliver and the way the world works in this story. There are subtle and not-so subtle differences between our current reality and Abandon Interest's reality, so I wanted to show as much as I could.

At a first glance, not much is different between this flat and any studio flat that is currently available on the market. I designed this on purpose, with the idea of Oliver only being able to find resistance through the ownership of vintage (current) items. It is best to keep in mind that this world is based in London in the 2050s. Oliver, himself, is in his 40s. His love for items from his childhood comes from a sense of nostalgia and longing, which, in turn, fuels the very system he wants to escape.

This comic was inspired by the dissertation I wrote this year, The Use of Generative AI in Contemporary Right-Wing Politics. I will be using the research I did for my dissertation to paint a picture of what a future could hold for us if current trends continue.

I am aware that this is a short explanation of the story and the research behind it, I promise that a more indepth blog post will be posted after the degree show!

I hope you all enjoy the first chapter!