Reaching out for community, I always wonder what it's like to feel that sense of togetherness that often eludes me. Is community really about belonging, or is it a panacea for the discomfort of being alone? I've had my own flirtations with this sense of community, believing at times that I truly belonged to this world. But, in other periods of my life (such as the one that I'm currently in), I have felt more alone than ever. To survive, I have needed to accept communion with myself and limit my need for community.
A lonely existence? Maybe.
But it's also a reflective one.
For instance, I first created this piece, "Tayo" (the Tagalog word for "us", symbolizing togetherness) around late-2022/early-2023 during my Winter Break from work, well before I got my hands on a single AI agent (had I been an early adopter, I probably would have created more pieces instead of stopping midway through my idea at the time). It reflects my yearning for community since, as social creatures, even the loneliest humans need companionship. I dared myself to craft interactive pieces, so long as someone touches the screen. Why? Because human engagement is the intent of building community. Being in community with others is meaningless without genuine engagement.
Lonely in a crowded room? Maybe a different room is suited for you. But maybe the room also needs to be more inclusive, since what is a person doing, being lonely in a crowded room to begin with?
Why is it that so many humans value our assumptions more than humanity itself? We often engage in community as a vague effort to get attention or for some other, more nefarious or at least ulterior, motive, rather than to uplift each other. Something that we need to realize is that, no matter what your views on social media, AI, or other emerging technologies are, the truth still stands that many issues regarding these technologies would not be problems if our community ties were stronger, if our communities were more inclusive, and if we respected each other's voices.
Instead, we have gatekeeping, endless, useless discourse, polarization, and we constantly one-up each other rather than teaching and listening to each other's perspectives.
The truth is, it didn't take social media or AI to break the concept of community; in many ways, it was already broken, and emerging technologies simply fill in the void.
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