This project is the special prize winner of the “Keep the Future Human” creative contest by The Future of Life Institute (FOL). It is awarded the “best social media content,” receiving a $2500 prize. Below are the carousel posts and the written submission.

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Chapter 1: What was AI made for?

Chapter 2: When did AI get hot?

Chapter 3: Paint the code red

Chapter 4: AI too well

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DESCRIPTION

“Popping the AI Barrier” is a four-part Instagram carousel series that breaks down ideas from the “Keep the Future Human” essay by Anthony Aguirre (2025) into visually striking, accessible, and familiar storytelling inspired by pop song titles, arranged in a plot that keeps readers anticipating the next upload. The project invites younger audiences—especially women—to discuss AI casually and reflect upon the essay by answering questions on the last slide, as everyone should be included in shaping the future of AI, including those who might roll their eyes upon discovering a long essay or hearing the word AI, but glued to screen and enjoyed learning from social media’s shortform content. While also a nod to the term “AI bubble,” this project aims to burst the bubble of technical exclusivity and make conversations about humanity’s future with AI truly public, without any barriers.

CONTEST ALIGNMENT

“Popping the AI barrier” directly engages with the core ideas of “Keep the future human” by translating the essay almost word-for-word into an accessible and fresh visual format. The carousels preserve the essay’s structure and arguments, ensuring conceptual accuracy while widening its reach. I only add light contextual bridges—such as the tap-dancing boots analogy to illustrate autonomy—to help non-technical audiences grasp complex concepts without altering the original meaning. Instead of using subchapters, I group the content into four posts, showing the plot progressing from the question of AI’s origin to the dangerous path and to the resolution. In this way, each plot has its own soundtrack based on the chosen pop songs.

The contest calls for widening public understanding of AGI risks, sparking reflection, and motivating collective action. My submission fulfils these objectives by re-expressing the essay through Instagram carousels designed especially for youth and women, groups that are underrepresented in AI governance discussions. Unlike most AI posts on Instagram, which are often blue, green, or black to emphasise dystopian scenarios, I deliberately chose pink. This is not just aesthetic but strategic. I want to stand out from the dominant visual language of AI discourse. I want someone who would normally scroll past a post about AI to stop, click, and stay, simply because the visuals feel unexpectedly fun, inviting, and “oh my god, is that Sabrina Carpenter holding a cable?”

By pairing the essay’s original explanation with gentle metaphors, familiar pop-song-inspired framing, and approachable design, the project lowers the barrier to engagement with heavy topics such as the autonomy-generality-intelligence triad, racing dynamics, existential risk, and the pressing need for global governance. The content remains fully faithful to the essay, supported by its diagrams and tables, but presented in a way that feels relatable and shareable.

At last, “Popping the AI barrier” meets the contest’s aims by maintaining fidelity to the essay while “popping” open the conversation for audiences who rarely see themselves reflected in AI discussions. It transforms a dense essay into a visual experience that invites curiosity, reflection, and collective resonance. In other words, keeping the future human by making the discourse human, too.

TARGET AUDIENCE

The project’s target audience is young people aged 17 to 30 who spend a lot of time on social media consuming short-form content for entertainment, information, or knowledge. They are avid consumers of TikTok videos, Instagram reels, and carousel posts, where information is expected to be visually appealing, concise, and easy to digest. Many in this group care about technology intuitively but rarely engage with long essays or academic publications, even though AI will profoundly shape their future, and even themselves. By using soft visuals, pop-culture cues, and familiar storytelling formats, my projects speak directly to an audience whose learning processes increasingly happen through scrolling rather than reading. This approach helps pull in young viewers who might otherwise skip AI topics, inviting them into a conversation that feels relevant and approachable.

PUBLISHING CHANNELS

The carousel posts will be distributed through my Instagram account, @cureadosities, which has around 8.5K followers, primarily Indonesian audiences. This provides an opportunity for the essay to reach viewers beyond the usual Global North demographic. My account typically features book reviews, and recently I have begun sharing more AI-related reads as a form of self-initiated public science communication. The posts will also be published on my new account, @casuallyai, a project dedicated to discussing AI casually—beyond prompting or coding—by translating academic papers into accessible carousels. I am currently applying for a grant to launch and grow this platform, so my submission to this creative contest will not mark the end of my goal to educate youth about AI. Instead, it is a start.

AI USAGE DESCRIPTION

I used ChatGPT to generate the images of the pop stars. I did not train the AI using the album cover to comply with copyright laws, but I described the images I wanted in extremely detailed prompts. I also use ChatGPT to revise the content of my submission form, as English is not my first language. Additionally, I used Grammarly for spell-checking and Canva Pro with AI features, such as the smart background remover. The ideas, layout, and copywriting—such as the song puns—were all done by me.

ABOUT YOU

Hello! I am Aulia, an Indonesian PhD student in Design Informatics at the University of Edinburgh. My research area is ethical human-AI co-creativity, and how it should be shaped from below and otherwise, offering perspectives from Southeast Asia. I just finished my first annual review two days ago—thankfully, I still have the energy to make this submission.

After finishing Life 3.0 months ago, I searched for more information about The Future of Life Institute because I was deeply intrigued by its ideas and values, and I stumbled upon a creative contest announcement. After I finished reading the essay, I just knew I had to do this. I want to help promote it—at least—to my friends and followers, and to broader youth audiences, as I have always been interested in science communication. Perhaps some of it is because I am funded by a government scholarship, which hit a soft spot for giving back to communities, but apart from that, I am concerned about the lack of educational content on social media. I already plan to launch @casuallyai, so being involved in this competition is also a way to explore how I might envision my ideals into practices.

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IG POST LINK

Chapter 1 – Chapter 2 – Chapter 3 – Chapter 4