Error 404: Humanity Not Found
An AI-generated short film about AI, bringing abstract ideas into focus through storytelling and practical filmmaking.
View on IMDb Credits
- Written by
- Fiona Bavinton
- Directed by
- Fiona Bavinton
- Produced by
- Clare Cahill, Fiona Bavinton
What does it feel like to be obsolete?
Error 404: Humanity Not Found is a science-fiction short film exploring the unsettling implications of artificial intelligence surpassing human capabilities.
The film began as an experiment in AI-assisted storytelling. We asked ChatGPT to explore what the technological singularity might mean. The creative exchange produced an unexpected question: What does it feel like to be obsolete? That question became the foundation of the film, in which a hacker encounters an artificial intelligence that challenges humanity's place in an increasingly intelligent world.
Directed by Fiona Bavinton and produced by Clare Cahill, Error 404 was created using an experimental workflow combining generative writing, imagery, video, voice transformation and music. The process explored not only what these emerging technologies could achieve, but the continuing importance of human creative judgement, direction and authorship.
In 2025, the film was exhibited at Design; Disruption; Divergence, held at TheGallery, Arts University Bournemouth, an exhibition examining the impact of generative AI on contemporary artistic practice.
The accompanying case study documents the creative process, the challenges encountered and what we learned about making films with AI.
For a more personal reflection on the experiment, including the possibilities, limitations, costs and ethics of generative filmmaking, read Fiona's article Making Error 404: Humanity Not Found on Stories in Code.