Meet LAUREN: would you tell your secrets to an AI?
Artist Lauren McCarthy asks audiences to do just that in her experiment to become a human smart home intelligence system.
LAUREN Devices. (2019/2019) by Lauren McCarthyBarbican Centre
You and AI: how does AI get close to you?
We are surrounded by devices that promise convenience and provide entertainment, using AI to sense our presence and monitor the environment. On display in the Barbican's AI: More than Human exhibition, LAUREN is Lauren McCarthy’s experiment to become a human version of a smart home intelligence system explores the tensions between intimacy and privacy, and the role of human labour in the future of automation.
Lauren McCarthy is an LA-based artist examining social relationships in the midst of surveillance, automation, and algorithmic living. She is the creator of p5.js, an open source programming language with over 1.5 million users, for learning creative expression through code online. She is Co-Director of the Processing Foundation, a non-profit whose mission is to promote software literacy within the visual arts, and visual literacy within technology-related fields—and to make these fields accessible to diverse communities. She is an Assistant Professor at UCLA Design Media Arts.
LAUREN Devices. (2019/2019) by Lauren McCarthyBarbican Centre
"I attempt to become a human version of Amazon Alexa, a smart home intelligence for people in their own homes."
LAUREN Devices. (2019/2019) by Lauren McCarthyBarbican Centre
"The performance lasts several days. It begins with an installation of a series of custom designed networked smart devices (including cameras, microphones, switches, door locks, faucets, and other electronic devices)."
Scene captured by LAUREN, Lauren McCarthy's installation as a human smart home system.Barbican Centre
"I then remotely watch over the person 24/7 and control all aspects of their home."
LAUREN Devices. (2019/2019) by Lauren McCarthyBarbican Centre
Scene captured by LAUREN, Lauren McCarthy's installation as a human smart home system.Barbican Centre
"I aim to be better than an AI because I can understand them as a person and anticipate their needs."
LAUREN Devices. (2019/2019) by Lauren McCarthyBarbican Centre
"The relationship that emerges falls in the ambiguous space between human-machine and human-human."
The human side of personal technology
Much of Lauren McCarthy's work has navigated the idea of implementing the human within the technology which we almost unwittingly use everyday. Her previous work 'SOMEONE' (2017) invited visitors to act as a human version of Amazon Alexa. For the exhibition, four participants’ homes were installed with custom-designed smart devices, including cameras, microphones, lights, and outlets.
Scene from Lauren McCarthy's SOMEONE installation - a human smart home command centre (2019/2019) by Lauren McCarthyBarbican Centre
When the homes are “on” you can watch over them and remotely control their networked devices from this command centre. You may hear smart home occupants call out for “Someone”—prompting you to step in as their home automation assistant and respond to their needs.
Would you attend a party generated by an AI?
What will be the role of humans in a future AI driven world? As algorithms begin to optimise nearly every interaction and aspect of our lives, the last remaining role for people may be performing the emotional labour to act as human interface to AI. This idea was explored in Lauren McCarthy's 24h HOST (2019).
Scene from Lauren McCarthy's 24h HOST - a cocktail party generated by a machine hosted by a human. (2017/2017) by Lauren McCarthyBarbican Centre
The 24h HOST performance is a small party that lasts for 24 hours, driven by software that automates the event, embodied in human HOST.
Scene from Lauren McCarthy's 24h HOST - a cocktail party generated by a machine hosted by a human. (2017/2017) by Lauren McCarthyBarbican Centre
Every 5 minutes, one guest departs and a new guest arrives. Over the course of 24 hours, the HOST becomes increasingly depleted, but the software system drives her to continue, as the guests endlessly cycle through…
Scene from Lauren McCarthy's 24h HOST - a cocktail party generated by a machine hosted by a human. (2017/2017) by Lauren McCarthyBarbican Centre
"What will be the role of humans in a future AI driven world?"
Lauren McCarthy is an LA-based artist examining social relationships in the midst of surveillance, automation, and algorithmic living. She is the creator of p5.js, an open source programming language with over 1.5 million users, for learning creative expression through code online. She is Co-Director of the Processing Foundation, a non-profit whose mission is to promote software literacy within the visual arts, and visual literacy within technology-related fields—and to make these fields accessible to diverse communities. She is an Assistant Professor at UCLA Design Media Arts.
AI: More Than Human is a major exhibition exploring creative and scientific developments in AI, demonstrating its potential to revolutionise our lives. The exhibition takes place at the Barbican Centre, London from 16 May—26 Aug 2019.
Part of Life Rewired, our 2019 season exploring what it means to be human when technology is changing everything.
