Mr. Diakur’s work embodies spontaneity, randomness, and error.
In 2019, I attempted to perform a backflip. As someone who is not a gymnast, it was a daunting task to envision accomplishing such a miraculous feat.
I began with clumsy attempts. Fear was my biggest obstacle during that period. However, over time, the fear gradually transformed into confidence. I was getting closer.
Then came the breaking point—my toe. I jumped too far back and stubbed my toe. I tried to brush it off, but something shifted in my mind. The confidence vanished.
The fear returned, and with each subsequent jump, I imagined the possibility of breaking something. That was the end. I never mastered the backflip.
This is why I created my avatar. I decided to cope with my lack of athleticism by teaching my avatar how to backflip. The avatar is immune to pain and unstoppable.
My avatar learns through machine learning. It watches human videos and mimics their movements. It also learns from its mistakes and improves, just like us.
I find it both magical and unsettling—magical because the A.I. resembles us so closely, unsettling because the technology seems limitless. This short documentary explores ambition, fear, control, uncertainty, rationality, emotion, the pursuit of excellence, technology, its accelerating pace, and the acceptance of failure. It’s about letting go.
Nikita Diakur is a filmmaker based in Germany.
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