Interview with Elliott Starr: Innovative Approach to Resurrecting Alan Watts' Work through AI Technology
In a unique and innovative project, Creative Director Elliott Starr and his team at Impero in London have brought back the wisdom of British philosopher Alan Watts using artificial intelligence (AI). The project, named 'Alan Watts - The Awakening', aims to make Watts' teachings more accessible to a new generation.
Elliott Starr, who has previously worked at 20something, Fallon, Leo Burnett, and Drum, compared the fear around AI to the fear around social media 15 years ago. He stated that such fears are disempowering and don't lead to action or output. However, he believes that AI will change things dramatically but will be another part of the creative canvas that they work on.
The idea for the project came about due to concerns about lonely teens making friends with AI and the polarizing nature of characters like Andrew Tate on social media. Starr believed that Watts' work offers a better blueprint for a role model than characters like Tate.
To emulate Watts' tone of voice, Starr spent about two working days experimenting with ChatGPT. However, for the AI voice generation, the team used ElevenLabs, an AI voiceover software, and provided a sample of Watts speaking for reference. The team then transcribed the most viewed YouTube videos of Watts for the project.
The project's goal is to make the revived Watts useful to people and potentially release the ChatGPT thread to the public for use. The team has created lofi videos using the transcribed content and the AI voice. With funding, the project could become a totally interactive AI that people could use.
Alan Watts, who lived in California and gave lectures and seminars about questions and challenges that people face in their lives, was a philosopher and writer known for popularizing Eastern philosophy, especially Zen Buddhism and Taoism, in the West during the mid-20th century. He played a significant role as a cultural bridge by interpreting these ideas for Western audiences. Watts had an amazing ability to elevate listeners above their problems and was an incredibly poetic speaker.
Starr believes that AI might not replace him, but he will do everything he can to avoid that happening and increase his output by embracing it. He stated that Watts' work is more accessible than many other philosophers and offers a better blueprint for a role model than characters like Andrew Tate.
This project is a testament to the power of AI and its potential to revive and share the wisdom of great thinkers like Alan Watts. It's an exciting development in the field of AI and philosophy, and we can't wait to see where this project goes next.
