Delta Flight 237 is an act of speculative storytelling that entangles humans and artificial intelligence in a dance of fiction, fabrication, and fragile truths.
What happens when machines become co-authors of narratives, creating artifacts so “real” that they shatter the boundary between simulation and reality? A kin-making project for the neural network era: a deliberate weaving of connections between human creativity and machine intelligence to expose the ethics of truth in an age of synthetic worlds.
At the heart of the installation lies the fictional legal case of Mr. John Martinez, who claims to have been injured by a runaway beverage cart during a flight. Though entirely fabricated, this story comes to life through AI-generated forensic evidence: court transcripts, synthetic audio testimonies, visual reconstructions, and fabricated props. These artifacts, like uncanny relatives, mimic the textures of reality so convincingly that they provoke disorientation, compelling us to confront how truth is created and accepted.
Blending a retro-inspired forensic aesthetic with cutting-edge AI, Delta Flight 237 is not just a project—it is a provocation. It destabilizes the structures of journalism, law, and media ethics, revealing how AI can co-produce narratives that feel true yet are algorithmically imagined. It is a speculative ecology where human and machine agency intertwine, reshaping our understanding of evidence, memory, and authenticity.
This project intentionally forges alliances—not only between humans and machines but also across disciplines and audiences. It invites us to critically reflect on the symbiotic relationship we cultivate with technology, where AI becomes both a partner and a provocateur in the act of storytelling. These relationships are not neutral; they demand ethical engagement and a reimagining of responsibility in the face of AI’s generative power.
Delta Flight 237 is a vivid reminder that truth, like kinship, is constructed. By staging a fictional legal case with AI-generated elements, it immerses the viewer in a world where “evidence” is as malleable as the tools that create it. This speculative kinship with AI challenges us to see technology not as a passive instrument but as a co-creator of narratives and worlds, urging us to navigate with care the blurred boundaries of reality and fiction in our collective future.
PROJECT MADE WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Fonds Kwadraat