In SHIFT we want to think the future is positive and it’s in SHIFT’s mission to empower towards positive change. However, there are real threads involved in the current path of (tech) development, starting with the big issues of climate change and the more subtle but equally real questions related to the – sometimes unfair – algorithmic decision-making tools, which are getting increasingly popular.

We need to consider what kind of future we are creating. It may be unlikely that one morning we wake up to a world where the robots have decided to kill all mankind, but an elementary understanding of the ethical questions about the artificial intelligence should be considered by everyone using the technology. Likewise, the world will most likely not be burned to ashes overnight because of the climate change but it doesn’t mean it’s not a threat to everything we love.

To keep the less attractive future scenarios in mind and to remind the audience that there’s always the potential dark side of the development, SHIFT Short Movie Series has been an essential part of the stage program in 2019 and 2018 festivals. The series is curated to you by SHIFT program team.

SHIFT 2019 short movie series

Donny the Drone (2017)
by Mackenzie Sheppard
The world’s first sentient machine goes on stage to accept a prestigious “Person of the Year” award as an auditorium of humans are confronted with his emotional and controversial story.

Abe (2013)
by Rob McLellan
A self-aware robot seeks out love and meaning with horrifying results.

7 Days of Artificial Intelligence (2016) 
by Keizac Lee, Marcus Lee, Kunal Rathore, and Pierre Roquet
A short film on the intelligence explosion. If God created his universe in 7 days; what could AI do to ours?

Server Room (2019)
by a director duo AB/CD/CD
A short film based on Richard Brautigan poem “All watched over by machines of loving grace”, 1967.

SIGHT (2012) 
by Eran May-raz and Daniel Lazo
A futuristic short set in a future around the corner, where contact lenses have replaced computers and smartphones.

Mother Earth Ep. 3: European Edition (2019)
by Kyle A. Loftus
A proof of how vast and wonderous this planet is but also a firm reminder it is our responsibilities as humans to take better care of our home, planet earth.

See also: SHIFT Short Movie Series 2018

None of the movies are produced by SHIFT. The producers have granted SHIFT the rights to show these movies at SHIFT Business Festival. Photo: A still from short film Abe.