Eyes On Tamaki
A digital installation exploring the issues and realities around facial recognition technology.
The steady increase of facial recognition technology has huge implications on how we think of our data privacy. However it’s an issue that many people don’t really understand, or realise how prevalent the tech actually is. To explain what the tech does, how it does it and what the information it collects can be used for, we created an interactive touchscreen exhibit.
Visually referencing a phone screen, our exhibit immediately contextualised the tech in its interface. From here we used impersonations of various apps that users could explore, to learn more about the visual data often collected. We rendered images of the users in the type of polygon mapping that the tech recognises, so people could see how they were artificially reduced and stored.
Along the way, we included notifications that touched on the public discussion and gave opportunities for people to share their opinions in votes on the subject. In a short engagement, museum visitors who stopped at the exhibit were given a comprehensive overview of a complex but important subject.
Evolution
- Engaging But Educational
- Revealing Surprising Realities
- Understanding Privacy Risks
Designing the exhibit to be approachable
Revealing the truth of the technology
Visualising data
Moments Of Clarity
- Collected Without Consent
- Visual Fingerprint
- Surveillance Issues
To explain the reality of facial recognition technology we created a range of mini-experiences.
Typical Video Filter
To draw attention to the presence of the tech in even more play-oriented apps, we created our own version of a video filter.
Polygonal Render
By showing users the polygon map that is often created of their face, we immediately revealed the tech’s ‘colder’ side.
Particle Render
Mapping a particle animation against the previously collected polygon map, demonstrated a more metaphorical representation of your data.
