In a world increasingly dominated by technology, where algorithms dictate our preferences and artificial intelligence promises to simplify our lives, Craig Martin is a voice, a beacon of human connection, calling out to remind us of what truly matters.
Will there be new religions created to adapt with new knowledge and information? Are our political structures about to be dismantled and reorganized dramatically across nation states? What if we lived in a society that no longer needs money for human survival? Can Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) - which is AI matching the intelligence of humans - be achieved soon? Could “singularity” or “artificial super intelligence” with AI vastly overtaking human intelligence be possible in my lifetime? These are the questions explored in this thought-provoking book.
Chapter 3:
“Peaceful Plurality”
The Good Road crew piled out of the van and began prepping gear for the first day of production in Mosul, Iraq. We had been told to wait until Tina Ramirez, Owner/Founder/President of Hardwired Global, was able to connect with officials inside the school we were about to enter. Closed iron gates stood between us and the awaiting children we knew we were about to film as they performed a play called Fruitopia. The special presentation was to be acted out for parents and the broader community by young elementary aged students at a public school outside of Mosul. We were tentative and yet excited about walking into the school. These would be our first shots of the Iraq production.
Earl had already scouted Iraq with Tina months before and told us that the stories were incredible and that the Iraqis are wonderful, kind and super welcoming. But, we had to experience it for ourselves. I am not totally sure what I was expecting when the gates opened with our camera operators, Josh Kugler and Kevin Doyle, filming everything that moved. The scene was like something out of a Hollywood film. Iraqi children lined the entryway to the courtyard, waving Iraqi flags and singing welcome songs as officials led us into the courtyard.
Children lined the periphery of the open space cheering and singing even from balconies in the upper levels. They waved flags and held up welcome banners. Important local officials and sheiks greeted Tina, Earl and me with handshakes and welcomes and led us to our front row seats with hundreds of Iraqi family members and locals clapping and cheering. All the while, our Director Andy Duensing and his brother Producer Josh Duensing orchestrated the work of our team. Our Field Audio Engineer, Jeremy Mazza, captured every beautiful song and word.
I have never felt so undeserving and yet elated and emotional all in one moment. The narrative in my head of Mosul, Iraq was one of; war, violence, hatred towards Americans and antagonism. And yet, here we were being greeted like special guests equivalent to important statesmen visiting a major celebration.
After meeting the head of the police, the mayor and leaders of the community we sat and were presented with candies, sweets and tea and the program began. This was our welcome to the people of Mosul, Iraq. The overall experience was hopeful and yet humbling.
We watched as young actors attending this school, with great exuberance, performed Fruitopia. Children of former ISIS fighters and children of historically Christian families wore t-shirts - some with apples, some with oranges and bananas - as they told a story of solving conflict peacefully. These youngsters in an Iraqi public school were practicing and engaging in something their elders in recent years had not been able to engage in, compromise and understanding in hopes of accomplishing plurality among the various sectarian groups. And, it was beautiful.
After the play, Earl and I went inside of a classroom with a Hardwired Global translator named Zeina Dbouk and began filming interviews with some of the young girls. This is where the hurt and heartache of a young generation of girls from Mosul got captured on camera. On the brink of tears, Earl, Zeina and I listened as the girls began to share what a post-war Mosul has been like for them. Almost all of them, and the teachers who sat with us as they talked, told us of loved ones who were killed during the war. In particular, the girls from strict Muslim families who had aligned with ISIS shared about their ISIS fighter fathers who were killed.
More than anything, these quiet and shy girls just missed their fathers and were devastated by all of the trauma in their young lives. “We just wish adults would stop fighting,” said one of our young interviewees. That hit us hard. We adults have been complicit in all kinds of conflict and destruction in our world and the young generations have paid the price. This complicity isn’t just in far off places like Mosul, Iraq, it’s right here at home as well.
28 сен 2024
