A “desire line” is an architectural term for the informal paths that pedestrians create through open grassland. What these lines represent are the shortest or most navigable routes between an origin and a destination. Ruini Shi’s film uses this idea in the context of Artificial Intelligence: a bot generates optimal solutions to user problems, its alculations operating as a form of desire line. The animated film aims to interrogate the increasingly controversial role of AI in human life. Set in the near future, the film visualizes a bot’s experiences of Valentine’s Day.
