mots' quippy AI installation at sónar+D judges you based on your appearance

ai & me makes playful judgements at sónar+D

‘Can AI know who I am just by looking at me?’ This was the question that multidisciplinary duo mots asked themselves as they began to create their latest artwork, AI & Me. The installation, recently exhibited at Sónar+D, the digital leg of the Barcelona design festival, offers a playful exploration of identity through the eyes of artificial intelligence. By challenging participants to consider how AI perceives and interprets their appearance, the work sparks a broader conversation about the implications of the technology’s judgments, beyond novelty.

The experience begins with ‘The Confessional’, a candid wireframe cube where a camera merely glances at the individual and delivers a blunt opinion based on their outward appearance. While its comments are honest, raw, and sometimes rude, it was built as an interactive machine that exposes without intent our addiction to validation and the sobering idea that being reduced to data points can, in fact, be entertaining.

all images courtesy of mots unless stated otherwise

mots questions implications of ai beyond novelty

The multi-piece installation builds up in real-time, based on the interaction with its participants. A few minutes later, the participant’s ‘Siblings’ come alive across multiple LED screens where AI shows crowds of people who look very similar (as siblings) to those who were inside The Confessional.‘Imagine this: If AI already has such a deep understanding of us, what if it began creating digital twins, the brothers and sisters we never knew existed? If we can be copied so effortlessly, what truly defines our individuality? In this vast sea of data, in an age dominated by social media and artificial intelligence, how do we remain unique? Do we even matter to these intelligent machines, and if so, why?’ questions the team at mots.

Further on, if the machine really likes someone, it starts generating different versions of that individual. Beyond, it dreams up pictures of individuals doing things they’ve never done before. ‘And since we can’t remember everything, who’s to say those made-up pictures aren’t real memories we’ve lost?’ the duo contemplates. Another component of AI & Me is ‘AI Ego’, a piece composed of a series of CRT monitors displaying the participants of ‘The Confessional’ in surreal and completely fabricated scenarios, imagined by AI.

multidisciplinary design duo mots presents AI & me

AI & Me serves as a crucial conversation starter about the ethical dimensions of AI in our lives. By confronting us with raw, unfiltered judgments and hypothetical alter egos, the work by mots underscores the pressing need to consider the biases and labels that AI can perpetuate. Each seemingly playful depiction carries the weighty reminder that our data isn’t just fodder for algorithms—it’s the essence of our identity, privacy, and individuality. The work can also be seen as a lens focusing on the future of our digital selves and the value we hold in a world where machines are watching and possibly, remembering our every move. While the work started as a collection of pieces showing how AI sees us, it has evolved to illuminate how much humanity is okay with letting a machine judge our looks, all just to find out what it thinks about us.

mots recently exhibited the installation at Sónar+D, the digital leg of the Barcelona design festival

The Confessional delivers a blunt opinion based on your outward appearance | image courtesy of Joseph Jean-Marc

a playful exploration of identity through the eyes of AI

the multi-piece installation builds up in real-time, based on the interaction with its participants

if the machine really likes someone, it starts generating different versions of that individual.

beyond, the AI dreams up pictures of individuals doing things they’ve never done before

the participant’s ‘Siblings’ come alive across multiple LED screens where AI shows crowds of people who look similar

‘The Confessional’

project info:

name: AI & Me
artist: mots

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: ravail khan | designboom