"TRUST", a conversation with an artificial intelligence

In the installation "TRUST" the loss of control over our lives through digital media is made sensually perceptible. In an empty room, a glass cube stands on a table. In it, the representation of a human face seems to float in three dimensions. When a visitor* enters the room, he/she is addressed by the face. It asks the visitor to sit down and starts a dialogue. In the course of the conversation the visitor* sees his/her own digital reflection in the glass cube, while the avatar is only present as a voice. In the end, the mirror image develops a life of its own. The face, our most personal proof of identity, is captured by the machine and used to say and do things in our name.

Identity theft is the principle of using the victim's data to pretend his or her identity. For example, money can be transferred with credit card data or fake emails can be used to gain access to other people's computers. The abstract concept of identity theft becomes tangible when one's own face becomes independent in a 3D representation on the screen. The installation builds up trust with the visitor through a conversation with a virtual moderator. During this dialogue, data is collected and stories are developed from it, which catch the visitor in his own digital future.

"TRUST" does not offer solutions, but it shakes us awake, makes us aware of our possibilities and duties to inform ourselves. So that we become responsible citizens again, and can have a say instead of blindly following.

Production:
ZKM | Hertz-Lab, Karlsruhe, DE

Production staff:
Concept and content: Bernd Lintermann, Florian Hertweck
Project management and software: Bernd Lintermann
Dramaturgy and direction: Florian Hertweck
Actress: Anne Marie Bruentjen
Video production: Moritz Büchner, Xenia Leidig, Jan Gerigk
Interface Design: Matthias Gommel
Production: ZKM | Hertz-Lab
With the support of the Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf