Thinking Digitial – The Submission

Module Code: 2025 MOD007295 TRI1-2 F01CAM

Formative assessment for Trimester 1

Thinking Digital

My Learning Manifesto

My Personal Manifesto

A copy of my personal manifesto of which I keep a copy in my diary and on the wall in my ‘Shed Office’ where I do my work outside of weekly sessions at University.

Thinking Digital – Electric Dreams Blog Posts:

Since completing the module a week ago, I have continued to develop my AI art skills and I think there is significant progression from the images – and uses – I have created in the time since the course began.

In NotebookLM I have begun to improve my family history research and have found interesting facts about Perthshire relatives from the mid-18^th century. Without this course, I would not know that my family opposed Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Jacobite Rebellion nor that an ancestor appeared before the local church congregation on 8^th December 1752 on a charge of ‘promiscuous dancing’.

And, I have created a series of images for friends this Christmas:

As well as a book – which has had a limited print run of advent meditations – I handed out copies at the exhibition but copies are available upon request:

I have continued to use the tools we have learned about during this module and have revisited the course PDFs – and expect to continue to do so as I have found this subject most engaging. I have created a great many drafts and documents during the course of this module and these are included in a Notebook in Notebook LM (please see link above). These include:

The notes and documents used for the “Electric Dreams” project constitute a comprehensive toolkit that bridges digital media theory, biblical narrative, and cutting-edge generative AI practice. Your materials track a journey from understanding foundational AI principles to producing a multimodal contemporary retelling of the story of Joseph,,.

The following is a summary of the documentation and notes utilized throughout this project:

1. Core Project Framework and Assessment Briefs

The Assessment Brief: Establishes the theme of “dreams and dreaming,” inspired by Philip K. Dick, and requires a creative digital media artifact, a weekly process blog, and a non-AI-generated critical reflection.
Rules for Co-Intelligence: Provides a guiding philosophy for the project: inviting AI to the table, maintaining the “human in the loop,” treating AI as a persona, and assuming current models are the “worst” you will ever use,,,.
The Digital Pilgrimage: Conceptualizes the project as a series of creative “stations” that move from illustration to active interpretation of dreams as metaphors for the subconscious,.

2. Foundational AI Theory and History

Chatbot Evolution: Documents the history of AI from Alan Turing and ELIZA (1966) to modern transformer-based models like ChatGPT and Claude,.
Underlying Technologies: Notes explain the mechanics of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), Diffusion Models (reversing noise to create images), and Transformer/Autoregressive models (pixel-by-pixel prediction),,.
The Collaboration Spectrum: Analyses the shift from AI as a discrete utility tool to an active “co-creator” or collaborator in the artistic process,.

3. The “Joseph and His Amazing Electric Dreams” Production Materials

Scriptural Source: Uses Genesis 37–50 (NRSVUE) to extract key motifs like the “coat of many colours,” symbolic dreams (sheaves, celestial bodies), and themes of betrayal and reconciliation.
Modern Narrative Scripts: Includes a condensed 5-minute script for live performance and a 10–12 minute narrated audiobook script featuring Joseph as a non-binary teenager in modern Britain.
Production Pack: Contains detailed cast lists, character relationship maps, costume notes (e.g., Joseph’s rainbow jacket lining), and stage directions focused on lighting and tone.
Queer-Coded Analysis: Analyses Joseph’s “long robe with sleeves” and his emotional depth through an inclusive, identity-focused lens.

4. Technical Modality Notes and Prompt Toolkits

Text/LLMs: Frameworks for priming AI, using structured formats like JSON/XML to ensure consistency, and “chaining” tools (e.g., Perplexity for research → ChatGPT for scripts → Claude for ethics).
Image Generation: Mastering the “5-Layer Framework” (Subject, Style, Composition, Lighting, Technical) and utilizing Midjourney features like –sref codes as “reality anchors” for visual consistency.
Audio Generation: Guidelines for prompting for timbre, texture, and spatial properties using Suno for music and ElevenLabs for voice synthesis and cloning.
Video and Agents: Research on diffusion models in video (Runway, Sora, Veo) and the final exploration of AI agents (n8n, Replit) to automate multi-step creative workflows.

5. Process Documentation and Reflections (The Old Times Blog)

Weekly Reflections: Captured in my blog, these posts document technical frustrations (e.g. AI’s poor proofreading of text in images) and philosophical realizations (e.g., AI’s lack of genuine “dread” makes it a perfect metaphor for synthetic dreaming).
Practical Exercises (Quests): Detailed step-by-step instructions for “Quests” like the Voigt-Kampff Empathy Test, False Memory Implants, and Ubik Reality Degradation experiments.

6. Exhibition Logistics

The Artist Salon: Plans for a “working studio” exhibition format in week 12, featuring student-led demonstrations at designated stations.
Station Cards: Documentation required for the exhibition, including project titles, descriptions, and QR codes linking to your process blog.

In summary, my documentation serves as a “Dream Journal” for the creative process, recording the evolution of an ancient story into a modern, digital experience through the strategic collaboration of human intuition and machine intelligence.

Personal Reflection

“Critical reflection, maximum 500 word critical reflection on the module and your
creative outcome (LO4) *Do not use ai to write this reflection, this is your
reflection, not Chat GPT! Comment on how you think Ai tools will impact your
workflow, how successful your outcome(s) are and how you plan to use Ai going
forward. (25% of mark)”

I have thoroughly enjoyed this module and I feel I have learned a lot and that it has enabled me to achieve one of the key learning objectives behind the reason I applied to join this course as a (very) mature student in the first place. I have long felt that I have a creative ability which due to an inability to draw or paint has been unable to find it’s voice – if that is the right word to use. AI has provided a tool which has enable me to experiment, research and create in ways that I would not have imagined possible just 12 weeks ago. While I recognise that this is intended to be a critical reflection, I do not intend to be very critical of these tools. This is because I feel that with human input from myself, the AI tools that I have used reflect my values and to that extent, I don’t have a negative word to say about them. But, in reality, like all technology I recognise that in the wrong hands they have the potential to do great harm. My personal use of these tools has enabled me to scratch my creative itch and I have used the skills I have learned to support me in a whole variety of ways including:

Due to clergy retirement, I was asked to renew my Lay Ministry licence in the summer. I have been able to plan and develop a service plan over three months which has given a strong and consistent message from the pulpit which has supported my congregations through the seasons of Remembrance to Advent and towards Christmas in an inclusive and progressive Christian way. I do not believe I would have had the capacity to complete this task without the ‘admin support’ that the AI tools have offerered. Chat GPT and Claude offer particularly strong theological support!
As part of my coming out journey this year, I adopted some of the ‘theology’ of Harvey Milk and using AI, I have been able to research, create articles, documents and images which support my campaigning activity while enabling me to retain focus on my studies.
AI has enabled me to recognise others – particularly friends and family. As you will see in some of the images posted above, I have been able to use AI to show people I care about that they are seen in images that pay tribute to aspects of their lives and likes which are unique to them and their situation – including on the day before Christmas Eve a young couple who run a café in St Neots – which is not unlike a wooden shed – who are expecting a baby over the Christmas Break.
This course has also supported me with the other modules in the first year of this degree. As an digital immigrant, who has never played a computer game beyond Solitaire, I have found a portal through which I believe I can access this world. For that, I will be always grateful.
Finally, among the objectives I set myself when I retired from employment (almost exactly) three years ago was to find purpose. I believe this course has enabled me to achieve this and I have not come to the end of a year with such a sense of fulfilment for a very, very long time.

Nick Gellatly

23^rd December 2025

Student Number: 1025128

nsg108@student.aru.ac.uk

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