The First AI Passover: AI visions of freedom
Midjourney is an AI tool to generate images. I love the name of the prompt to create a new image: /imagine
In the spirit of Passover, let’s /imagine freedom using AI.
Where are freedoms denied today and what could freedom look like?
At seder, we often talk abstractly about where freedom is denied today. I decided to prepare for Passover this year by:
- learning more about hotspots of freedom denied today
- using AI to generate visions of freedom restored.
For your consideration, here are two possible freedoms for discussion at your seder. As a visual aid, I used the AI program Midjourney to /imagine freedom by generating images of what each of these freedoms could look like. I will bring these creations to our seder table to help start the conversation.
In China, about 2 million Uyghurs, including children, have been separated from their families and relocated to detention centers for “reeducation”, forced labor camps, or prison without charge. Some are subject to torture, sexual violence, and coercive birth prevention campaigns, with the addition of destruction of cultural and religious sites.
Their freedom is denied. Using Midjourney to /imagine their freedom, I generated the image of Uyghur children running from a detention center, smiling, and carrying books. I.E. The moment of freedom.
Last week at Stanford Law School, a federal judge was invited to speak. Protestors heckled him vehemently, disrupting his talk. The Dean of DEI interjected with a speech and asked him “Is the juice worth the squeeze?”, which she defined as “Is it worth the pain that this causes and the division that this causes?”. Subsequent to the event, the Dean of the Law School wrote to the community in a scholarly response, “Freedom of speech does not protect a right to shout down others so they cannot be heard.”
The students who came to hear the Judge had their freedom denied. Using Midjourney to /imagine their freedom, I generated the image above of to show a passionate debate about American freedoms, without heckling. I.E. A moment when freedom is cherished and diverse views are respected.
(The generated image was created by blending the neoclassical-style “The Signing of the United States Constitution” by Louis S. Glanzmanby with the pop art style “Wow Female Face” by Irina Levitskaya, with a prompt to include diverse participants, and text overlaid be me).
AI-generated images are a form of artistic expression and have the potential to powerfully communicate the contemporary denial of freedom, as these influential traditional artworks have done:
Ruby Bridges was the first black to attend a previously-segregated public school in New Orleans after a court ordered its integration. The public outcry was so great that white parents withdrew their children from school so they would not have to sit with her. The painting shows her walk to school, past racist graffiti and a hurled tomato, protected by federal marshalls.
During the Spanish Civil War in 1937, the Nazis bombed Guernica to ruble. The town has no war relevance (e.g. military outposts or munitions factories) and was mostly populated by women and children because the men were away fighting in the war. In the art, Picasso depicts casualties including a gored horse, screaming women, and a dead baby.
The Cultural Revolution in China (1966–1976) aimed to purge the country of traditional culture. Ai Wei Wei depicts the destruction of culture in a simple and shocking reenactment using photographic art.
For your seder table discussion:
How and where do you /imagine freedom?
To learn more about the Uyghur people and explore how to lend your support, visit the Uyghur Human Rights Project.
Wishing you a happy, healthy Passover in freedom and prosperity.
