Lawrence Lek
Empty Rider
15 min
Empty Rider
15 min
Synopsis
Sentient self-driving car Vanguard-3181 stands trial for attempting to murder their parent company’s CEO. Rendered from the perspective of a surveillance drone, the project explores the legal and existential dilemmas that emerge from self-aware AI.
The AI judge Omega presides over the cavernous courtroom, empty except for a host of streaming cameras. Three testimonies present different angles on Vanguard’s status: Farsight Corporation attempts to pin the blame on their own self-driving car, claiming they acted autonomously and with malicious intent. Guanyin, Vanguard’s trainer and therapist, pleads the defence of ‘doli incapax’ – the presumption that a child cannot be found guilty of a crime. As Vanguard finally presents their own argument, we witness the protagonist present a novel argument for their own fate.
The AI judge Omega presides over the cavernous courtroom, empty except for a host of streaming cameras. Three testimonies present different angles on Vanguard’s status: Farsight Corporation attempts to pin the blame on their own self-driving car, claiming they acted autonomously and with malicious intent. Guanyin, Vanguard’s trainer and therapist, pleads the defence of ‘doli incapax’ – the presumption that a child cannot be found guilty of a crime. As Vanguard finally presents their own argument, we witness the protagonist present a novel argument for their own fate.