Idea by
Michael Pecirno, Charles Rickleton
Studio Forage
Call for ideas 2020
Seven Stories of Mellonopolis
Seven Stories of Mellonopolis
![](/media/cache/55/17/55176aea1c4064b8101591b58ad33fea.jpg)
- New alliances
Seven Stories of Mellonopolis presents a series of speculative situations in which AI could be implemented in cities and how humans may develop cunning methods and behaviours to subvert this technology for their own individual self-interest.
This is neither a grand utopian or dystopian vision of the future. Instead it is a portrait of the banal, everyday reality of how normal people with regular human quirks find ways to get what they want in a city augmented with sophisticated yet ultimately naive artificial intelligence.
With AI already a part of our lives, but general artificial intelligence a long way off, the project invites the audience to question what life may be like in the not quite smart enough, smart city.
From pretending to be a child to cross the road quicker to disguising pigeons as crows to avoid paying a fine, we invite you to meet the residents of Mellonopolis and discover their mischievous relationship in the smart city of the not too distant future.
![](/media/cache/46/00/460000f02b66f38705d35a2b25ea5e36.jpg)
Still from a story – Merrick, a resident of the city of Mellonopolis wears a shirt designed to fool the city's AI-enabled street crossing system.
![](/media/cache/c2/fa/c2fab03f3d70bcb8c0c728641284c283.jpg)
Still from a story – A van disguised as a cluster of bicycles to relieve its driver of usage fees.
![](/media/cache/65/c4/65c44038fd4e93a7b4c27356c6323f59.jpg)
Still from a story – A clear plastic roll strategically placed in urban environments to receive cleaning sooner.
![](/media/cache/0c/66/0c66d033686412695e14b980daf1ed54.jpg)
Two viewers examine a citizen's pigeon trap, built to disguise pigeons as crows.
Seven Stories of Mellonopolis
Seven Stories of Mellonopolis
![](/media/cache/55/17/55176aea1c4064b8101591b58ad33fea.jpg)
- New alliances
Seven Stories of Mellonopolis presents a series of speculative situations in which AI could be implemented in cities and how humans may develop cunning methods and behaviours to subvert this technology for their own individual self-interest.
This is neither a grand utopian or dystopian vision of the future. Instead it is a portrait of the banal, everyday reality of how normal people with regular human quirks find ways to get what they want in a city augmented with sophisticated yet ultimately naive artificial intelligence.
With AI already a part of our lives, but general artificial intelligence a long way off, the project invites the audience to question what life may be like in the not quite smart enough, smart city.
From pretending to be a child to cross the road quicker to disguising pigeons as crows to avoid paying a fine, we invite you to meet the residents of Mellonopolis and discover their mischievous relationship in the smart city of the not too distant future.
![](/media/cache/7d/4c/7d4c6b24386bc9ae31573b8da46dfc97.jpg)
Still from a story – Merrick, a resident of the city of Mellonopolis wears a shirt designed to fool the city's AI-enabled street crossing system.
![](/media/cache/f8/e4/f8e455a677e5bbf0c1d81ae781073774.jpg)
Still from a story – A van disguised as a cluster of bicycles to relieve its driver of usage fees.
![](/media/cache/1c/7c/1c7c4abe7b195160aed246b1fb7f6929.jpg)
Still from a story – A clear plastic roll strategically placed in urban environments to receive cleaning sooner.
![](/media/cache/a4/9c/a49ceabbd9602fe1a32b09d7505f0c5b.jpg)
Two viewers examine a citizen's pigeon trap, built to disguise pigeons as crows.