CAPSTONE PROJECT
duration
3 months
special thanks
James Walker, Sam Lavigne
Recently, I explored the relationship between the user and the used in technology.
Our devices were built for our consumption, yet we give over more and more of our personal data due to lack of regulation and it makes me wonder who is the one being used in our human - device relationship.
This book was a final artifact from my research. Inside there's a Google Earth collage series that illustrates how our devices shift our interpersonal and spatial dynamics. One can go back through Google Earth's timeline and see landscapes before everybody was consumed by their devices.
People feel frightened when they are instantaneously targeted by ads based on their conversations. In response, I coded a program with Sam Lavigne that transcribes overheard conversations. From this I created an archive of my last couple months at UT, that I then pulled snippets of and created the above "consumerist poems" pairing words with related products from amazon.com, in a published book that disables you from one click purchases.
Above is a transcription of my final critique at UT during which I ran my program and transcribed my presentation and comments from my guest critics. I revealed to them at the end I had used it and received a pair of raised eyebrows and nice chuckle from them.
Other final artifacts from my thesis research include a series of 3D portraits.
These portraits speak to my relationship with my device and illustrate not only how I use it but in turn how it alters the way I view myself. In this portrait I was browsing Spotify. In other portraits I am taking a selfie, or facetiming a friend while running the 3D scan.
Keep scrolling to see other explorations that informed my final artifacts...
TEMPORARY INSTALLATION
This installation prompted viewers to respond to the question "how does your relationship with your phone make you feel?" They responded via paper bubbles and here are some of their answers.
36 responses total
93% of people reported feeling negatively about their relationship with their phones. There was a common sentiment of feeling trapped.
MACHINE LEARNING THAT TELLS YOU HOW YOU FEEL
Another exploration that informed my final work was a program I coded with p5.js that operates on the premise of teaching your webcam to understand your facial expressions. When turned on, it informs you what emotion you are currently feeling and at what confidence interval the computer is sure that you are feeling that emotion.
NEXT: VIRTUAL STROLLS FOR A PANDEMIC ERA