Could you imagine a robot takeover beginning anywhere other than a major automobile factory? It only makes sense—car plants are already some of the most automated, robot-packed spots on the planet.

“ANA” is a recent sci-fi short film exploring this human-machine apocalypse scenario. In the film, we experience the moments leading up to the beginning of the end through the eyes of a nondescript factory worker who appears bored and made mostly irrelevant because of high-tech gadgetry and automation.

Little does he realize—he holds the key to our survival.

“ANA” was created by Factory Fifteen, a creative studio specializing in a “design led approach to filmmaking and a narrative led approach to architectural visualization.” Part of a larger project currently underway, the themes explored here mirror previous Factory Fifteen shorts showcasing the convergence of design, architecture and the future in often shocking and dystopian ways.

Though it’s a dark perspective, the film showcases how our choices today can impact the world tomorrow. In a world where increasing responsibility is shifted from human to machine, what little work is left for humans may seem unimportant. But despite how insignificant the job appears, the new world may be closer than it appears at the time — in this case, only one human decision away.

The experience of storytelling itself in this context may play as important a role in our future as anything else. If art, pop culture and sci-fi offer a vehicle for imagining the future, then engaging with these ideas via entertainment can play a role in shaping the world to come.

Storytelling offers us an opportunity to paint the world we’d like to live in and also the potential futures we’d prefer avoiding. We can begin visualizing a world beyond our own and, most importantly, become empowered to make the decisions that shape our future.

Image Courtesy of Factory Fifteen