Learning the New Language

### **TREATMENT: LEARNING THE NEW LANGUAGE**

**LOGLINE**

In a small Indigenous community wary of digital colonialism, a young innovator must convince her elders to build their own artificial intelligence to preserve their culture, sparking a tense debate between technological sovereignty and the fear of repeating past traumas.

**SYNOPSIS**

In a stark community hall under the hum of fluorescent lights, four community members are locked in a tense debate about adopting AI technology. TANIA, a young, forward-thinking woman, sees AI as a potential tool for cultural revitalization, while LUCY, a staunch traditionalist, views it as a form of digital appropriation—a machine that can only mimic, not understand. As the pragmatic tech-focused ED tries to frame it as a neutral tool, the respected elder DAVID listens silently. The conversation pivots when Tania argues they could build their *own* AI, feeding it their specific language, stories, and worldview. This idea of "data sovereignty" captures Ed's imagination and prompts David to offer a powerful metaphor: they must build their own "loom" to weave their narratives, rather than work on a loom built by outsiders. This reframes the entire debate from one of passive use to active creation. Despite Lucy’s valid concerns about resources and the risk of failure, the group coalesces around a fragile but determined plan to start a small pilot project, reclaiming this new technology for themselves. Just as they find their resolve, a sudden, violent gust of wind throws the hall door open, and a panicked voice shatters their theoretical discussion with an urgent, real-world crisis.

**CHARACTER BREAKDOWN**

* **TANIA (20s):** The protagonist. Bright, passionate, but with a nervous energy that betrays her youth. She is caught between a deep respect for her heritage and a powerful curiosity for the future. She is the catalyst, seeing technology not as a threat, but as a potential key to cultural survival and expression.

* **LUCY (40s/50s):** The voice of caution and history. Grounded, sharp, and deeply protective of her culture. Her skepticism isn't rooted in ignorance, but in a lifetime of seeing outside forces appropriate and distort her community’s stories. She is the guardian at the gate.

* **ED (30s):** The pragmatist and builder. More comfortable with code than with conflict, he sees the technical challenge and potential of AI as a powerful, neutral tool. He bridges the gap between Tania's idealism and the practical steps needed to make it a reality.

* **DAVID (60s):** A respected community elder. A quiet, observant leader who carries the weight of his community’s history. He listens more than he speaks, but when he does, his words reframe the entire conversation. He is the voice of wisdom that synthesizes tradition and progress.

**SCENE BEATS**

* **THE STALEMATE:** The scene opens on a tense silence in a community hall. TANIA, ED, DAVID, and LUCY sit around a worn table. The air is thick with the finality of Lucy’s last statement: using AI is appropriation.

* **THE COUNTER-ARGUMENT:** Ed gently pushes back, comparing AI to a tool like a hammer—its intent is defined by the user. Lucy dismisses this; a hammer doesn’t learn or predict.

* **A NEW LITERACY:** Tania, finding her voice, nervously suggests AI could be a new form of literacy, like the printing press, which also sparked fear before it changed the world.

* **THE CORE CONFLICT:** Lucy sharpens the point: photography captures reality, but AI *invents* it, creating inauthentic stories. The fear is a machine rearranging and misrepresenting their culture.

* **TANIA'S BREAKTHROUGH:** Leaning in, Tania articulates her core idea: what if they *build* the AI's "brain" themselves? Feed it their specific reality, language, and worldview, so it helps them find patterns and preserve knowledge, not just mimic.

* **DAVID'S METAPHOR:** After a long silence, David walks to the window. He validates Lucy's fears about corporate-built tools, then turns and offers the scene's central, galvanizing metaphor: "What if we could build our own loom? To weave our own narratives."

* **THE SHIFT:** The energy in the room changes. The debate shifts from *if* they should use this technology to *how* they could build it themselves. The concept of sovereignty becomes the focus.

* **PRACTICAL OBJECTIONS:** Lucy remains the voice of reason, pointing out the immense cost, time, and expertise required. They are miles behind the tech giants.

* **THE PLAN FORMS:** Ed, energized, suggests they start small: an open-source prototype. Tania offers a concrete example: an archival tool to understand beadwork patterns or preserve oral histories, not to create new stories.

* **ETHICS AND OVERSIGHT:** The group discusses the crucial need for community-led ethical frameworks, review boards, and human oversight, ensuring the AI is a servant, not a master.

* **FRAGILE RESOLVE:** David counters Lucy’s fear of failure by stating that doing nothing is the only failure they can’t afford. A quiet, determined energy fills the room. Tania feels a surge of conviction.

* **THE INTRUSION:** As Ed prepares to sketch out a proposal, the hall door is thrown open by a harsh gust of wind. A panicked, unseen voice calls out, violently yanking the characters from their theoretical debate into an immediate, unknown crisis.

**VISUAL STYLE**

* **AESTHETIC:** Social realism meets a subtle, emergent futurism. The environment is grounded and tangible, but the ideas discussed are abstract and cutting-edge.

* **PALETTE & LIGHTING:** The interior of the hall is dominated by cool, desaturated tones—institutional beiges, worn wood, the grey linoleum floor. The light is the flat, sterile hum of overhead fluorescents. This contrasts sharply with the world outside the window: a weak, watery spring sun struggling through grey clouds, hinting at nascent life and hope (fragile green buds on bare branches).

* **CAMERAWORK:** The camera should feel intimate and observational. Handheld, but steady. Long takes during the debate to build tension and allow the performances to breathe. Close-ups will be crucial: Tania’s twitching fingers, the condensation on Ed’s glass, the deep lines on David’s face, the unwavering intensity in Lucy’s eyes.

* **VISUAL METAPHORS:** When Tania imagines the possibilities, we could see brief, impressionistic flashes: lines of code weaving together like intricate digital beadwork; a 3D model of a forest that is identifiably *their* forest, not a generic asset. David’s "loom" metaphor should hang in the air, a powerful, unseen image that defines the rest of the scene. The final shot is a sudden, jarring switch to a wide angle as the door flies open, shattering the scene's containment.