It’s been almost two years since the SafetyWing team launched Plumia—the moonshot mission to build an internet country for digital nomads.
Since then, thousands of technologists, futurists, makers, artists and other global citizens have joined our movement and asked us how they can get more involved with the project. Today, we’re sharing an open brief that invites you to join our community and help us imagine the future of internet countries using artificial intelligence.
Artists often predict the future before most of us have even noticed the signals. In the 2020s, they have powerful tools like artificial intelligence to conceptualize their visions. We’re interested in seeing what today’s artists believe the future of internet countries looks like.
We want you to use an AI tool like DALL-E (best for beginners) or Midjourney to generate futuristic images around the concept of internet countries or a specific internet country project. If you’re a digital artist—experienced or aspiring—and want to see your work featured on our website, shared through our social media channels, and distributed to 150k+ email subscribers, this brief is for you!
What is an internet country?
An internet country is a group of people with a specific set of values and interests who come together to create a new culture and nation.
Our mission at SafetyWing is to build a global social safety net of borderless health insurance, pensions, income protection and more. Most of our customers today are digital nomads and remote workers, and the Plumia mission is focused on creating an internet country suitable for these groups.
But there are already 26 different internet country projects listed on The Network State dashboard, and the artwork you create could be inspired by any one of them – or by one that doesn’t exist yet.
You art could aim to answer a broad question such as:
- How should a future internet country operate? What should it look like?
- What would it feel like to be part of this internet country—to be a citizen of it, to stand within it?
- How will an internet country interact with the built environment—cities and local infrastructure?
- How can we visually depict institutions for the internet era?
- What should an internet country facilitate in the real world? Does your ideal internet country offer passports, access to healthcare, education, public transport, universal basic income?
- How will communities gather and interact?
- How will internet countries advertise themselves? With billboards, posters, poetry, QR codes?
✅ Task: Earn cash prizes for AI art
Use an AI tool like DALL-E or Midjourney to generate your own internet country-inspired art
We want to see your visualizations of an optimistic internet country future. SafetyWing is offering cash prizes of $1,000 (1st place), $750 (2nd place) and $250 (3rd place) for the winners, plus 10 prizes of $100 each for the runners-up.
In addition to the cash prizes, we’ll feature the best submissions on the Plumia website, and share them with SafetyWing and Plumia’s email lists and via social media, linking to artists’ websites and profiles to help them reach new audiences.
As conceptual references for the Plumia mission, read our essays Foundations for a Country on the Internet and Minimum Viable State: Building a Nomad Internet Country, and dive into recent press coverage from TIME Magazine and The Conversation.
As an aesthetic guide, we’ve included a few ideas below to get you thinking. These are just a starting point and you may choose to do something totally different. We encourage you to think outside the box and pursue the ideas and style that speak to you and your vision.
How to submit
We can't wait to see your vision of the internet country aesthetic! When you’ve made your artwork, use the form below to send us your entry. The deadline to submit your response is November 13th, 2022. We’ll be in touch with the winners about their prizes soon after submissions close.
🏆 Winners:
1st place: Anna Somewhere
2nd place: moonsoon
3rd place: Tessa Hill
Runners up:
This brief is the first of an ongoing series called Plumia Open Briefs. To hear about the next one, sign up for our monthly newsletter.
Inspired by the Plumia mission? View our current openings and join the SafetyWing team to help us build a global social safety net and a country on the internet.
