Imagine Piccadilly Gardens but if all humanity vanished. It's so chilling to see places you've been literally thousands of times like this. A creator known as Ray Mains has used artificial intelligence to produce videos showing UK landmarks, including Manchester, after humanity is wiped out. The channel 'Remains of Tomorrow' depicts unsettling scenes of the Etihad stadium, Deansgate, Manchester Town Hall, the Arndale, Piccadilly Station, and other landmarks overgrown with weeds, windows boarded up, and abandoned cars lining empty streets.
The Vision Behind the Videos
Ray Mains, whose real name is Lee, hails from Carlisle and says he will never reveal how he produces the starkly realistic videos. The channel was sparked by a love of post-apocalyptic films and shows. 'The idea for the channel was born from a love of post apocalypse movies and tv shows, and an imagination of it actually being a reality where I live, rather than how it's depicted in Hollywood,' he told the M.E.N. 'Real world environments that people recognise and can relate to is the core concept.'
AI and Photography
Lee has been a street photographer for over 20 years, building an extensive library of imagery. 'The advances in AI simply allowed small content creators like myself to make my imagination into a reality,' he said. His video 'Manchester After Humanity — A Cinematic Reconstruction' has amassed 25,000 views on YouTube and was also posted to Facebook.
Viewer Reactions
Comments flooded the videos. One viewer wrote: 'It's so chilling to see places you've been literally thousands of times like this. Absolutely love these videos!' Another commented: 'Having walked through every place in this video, it’s so sad but oddly satisfying to see what we the human species, is to leave behind.' Some made quips about Piccadilly Gardens looking better than usual, and another noted: 'Love how the pigeons survived.'
Other Scenarios
Other videos, such as 'Manchester - After the Flood,' depict the city centre after flooding. Another focuses on the Trafford Centre, Alton Towers, the Arndale, and Market Street after decades of abandonment. Lee says sci-fi films like 'Planet of the Apes,' 'I Am Legend,' and '28 Days Later' inspired him. 'It's storytelling. It triggers the imagination, a glimpse into a possible future and perhaps a stark reality check at the fragility of the world around us,' he added.
The Remains of Tomorrow can be found on YouTube and Facebook.
