The River of Memories

Last weekend I sat down with no goal in mind.

No deliverables. No tickets. Just a bit of curiosity.

I opened up my code editor, and I built something that felt like a memory: a digital stream of images flowing downward, each scroll a step through time.

I called it The River of Memories.

And while I did pick up some cool new techniques in Three.js, it's what I learned about creativity and AI that stuck with me.

Can AI Amplify Creativity?

Someone asked me this the other day:

“Do you think AI can really amplify creativity instead of replacing it?”

Here's what I've come to believe (not just in theory, but from lived experience):

AI Doesn't Replace Creativity, It Amplifies It.

Used well, AI acts as a creative accelerator.

It gives us superpowers: helping us move across disciplines faster (horizontal) and dive deeper into details we'd normally skip (vertical).

Whether that's generating new visual styles, speeding up prototyping, or even helping us reason through complex ideas. It's like turning friction into flow.

AI Expedites Learning

For me, the biggest takeaway about AI is the joy of learning.

AI helps us shorten the distance between an idea and its execution. This means more feedback loops, more discovery, more "aha" moments.

We can explore things that once felt out of reach. And we do it faster, it's more satisfying than ever before.

Tools Aren't Enough. Culture Matters.

Tools are only part of the equation.

We need to create cultures, in our teams and in ourselves, that encourage curiosity, creativity, and experimentation.

Not just to move fast, but to go deep.

To use AI not as a shortcut, but as a companion in the creative and learning process.

What I Built

At its core, The River of Memories is a canvas filled with fragments of time — each image a memory, floating freely through space.

There are three key pieces that make the experience come alive:

1. Randomized Placement & Rotation

Each image appears in a unique position with a slight rotation, giving the canvas a more organic, unstructured feel, like memories scattered across space.

2. Infinite Scroll in Every Direction

No top, no bottom. No edges.

You can scroll infinitely (horizontally or vertically) and the experience never ends.

It’s like drifting through an endless river of moments.

3. Pinch-to-Navigate Interaction

Using pinch gestures (or scroll wheel zoom), you can pull back or dive deeper into the canvas, giving you a sense of movement through time and scale.

It feels like navigating through layers of memory.

Built with Three.js

I learned a lot about shaders, texture mapping, positioning in 3D space, and handling smooth infinite scrolling.

Here is the interactive experience, which includes the GitHub repo + source code at the bottom.

Feel free to explore, remix, or build on it. 🤘

Final Thoughts

If we use AI with care and intention: it won't replace our creativity.

It'll spark it.

It'll amplify it.