KUCHING (Sept 9): Sarawak should create the image of moving forward, rather than being held back by negative connotations such as haze, said Kuching South mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng.

He also said that it should be the federal government taking the lead in engaging Indonesia on the haze issue, as it is a problem that extends beyond the state’s borders.

He made this call at the press conference for the animated short film ‘Michiru’, which is set entirely in Kuching and produced entirely through artificial intelligence (AI).

Wee said the 30-minute film was an example of how technology could be made full use of in the proper direction.  

Michiru will be screened for free at GSC tHe Spring this Saturday (Sept 12), with two screenings at 2pm and 3pm.

The screening is jointly organised by the Kuching South City Council (MBKS) and Torabera ACG Fest as part of the three-day Torabera 4.0 festival at the mall.

Meanwhile, Isekai Zero chief community officer Jimsley Lim said the company’s AI application had attracted users from around the world.

“Around the world, we have about 70,000 active users daily. Most of our business market is in Europe and the United States, so since we get so many users and subscribers on our YouTube (channel), we are trying to let the whole world see Kuching.

“That was how I came up with the idea to have this anime (short film),” he said, adding that the team visited various locations in Kuching to capture the materials, which were subsequently fed into the AI system,” he said.

“It’s (making the film) is not like typing a sentence and everything appears. You require a lot of people, (such as) the artists, to curate the whole storyline. Then, they need a prompt and re-prompt to turn it into a movie.”