This excerpt comes from the third movement, Nature and the Universe, of Carey Tan’s Symphony No. 3, The Rise and Fall of AI Humanity.

After living for some time in a highly modernised society created by artificial intelligence, humanity finds itself surrounded by efficiency, machines, steel, and algorithms. Everything works perfectly. Every need is calculated and provided for. Yet beneath this flawless order, the world has become cold, rigid, and distant from life.

In this mechanical civilisation, human beings begin to long for the Earth they once knew. They remember the open sky, the mountains, rivers, forests, and the quiet feeling of being surrounded by nature. They remember a world that was imperfect, but alive; slower, but warmer; less controlled, but more deeply human.

This movement is not an act of rebellion, but a deep memory of what has been lost. The music brings humanity back to a time when nature still breathed around us, reminding us that true civilisation is not only about power, efficiency, and control, but also warmth, life, beauty, and the spiritual connection between humanity and the natural world.