In the public space, there is always a balance between control and freedom. This balance should also be maintained in the use of AI and specifically computer vision, which is mostly used for surveillance and crowd control. We can use the same technologies in a creative way and design for freedom. Together with activist group A Foras the impact of restricting the movement of freedom is explored, but also the symbols of freedom. In the installation, your presence and movement has an impact. Just like how the symbols of freedom: nature, the sea, fish, and birds move in unison, also we as humans can move in unison and freedom.
There were two expositions, one at Espronceda in Barcelona and the final at MEET in Milan. During which the four artists showcased their works to the public.
The project started with the following question: how is our freedom of movement compromised, and which role does AI play in this? A visit to Cagliari was planned to meet the activists, here you can see a video of my stay:
Activists’ group A Foras, who are against the military occupation in Sardinia, feels like their movement of freedom is restricted, both literally and figuratively speaking. The technology owned by the military is used for control and during the protests by the activists they are filmed and later identified by technology.
Object/person Recognition and Video Motion Analysis are computer vision techniques for identifying objects and humans in videos and images. With these algorithms, the videos of A Foras protest marches and natural flocking behaviour have been analysed and transferred into a flocking algorithm.
We can decide that we are going to use technology to increase freedom. The way forward is peace and unity; together we create from the values that we find important.