Gate
2021
I / Human Error Captcha
„human error (noun): the fact of making mistakes as a natural result of being human; mistakes of this kind; the fact that a mistake is made by a person, rather than as a result of technology failing to work correctly; mistakes of this kind” (Oxford English Dictionary)
A captcha is a gate that is supposed to distinguish between human and non-human users, to prevent the abuse of a certain computer program. Over the years, captchas have got more and more complex. This is partly the result of the advancement of machine learning algorithms and computer vision.
Human Error Captcha is a proposal of a captcha that builds on human error as a basic distinction between human and non-human agents. The user is prompted to select images of humans from a batch, then the program evaluates their decision and draws a conclusion.
II / The „Saddest Case”
„The uncanny valley is where we are scared by things that look almost human but aren't. Other animals do not experience the uncanny valley effect and will accept things things that look like them with little issue. That means that at some point in our evolution, running away from things that looked almost human was advantageous enough to be imprinted on our genetics. What the fuck were we that scared of?” (u/LaoSh in r/Showerthoughts)
Through a fictive, dreamlike conversation, the video aims to explore the borders of our definition of „human”, and their possible shifting due to advancements in artificial intelligence research. It portrays different practices of constructing human bodies, contrasting folklore elements, online role playing games and the uncanny valley.
The video’s script was partly written with the assistance of a text-based neural network.
III / Yet Unimaginable Horrors
The installation aims to serve as a memorial for yet unimaginable accidents (and their victims) that will be born as a result of our technological advancement in the future. These horrors are imagined and pictured by neural networks and portrayed in an animation as part of the installation. LED candles are lit in memory of the future victims.
Photos by János R. Szabó.
exhibited at
- Gate I-II: 2021, the finissage of Human Pattern, Nóra Szabó's solo exhibition, FKSE Studio Gallery, Budapest (HU)
- Gate I-III: 2021, Eppur si movie! IMXXX - Intermedia Retrospective, group exhibition, HUFA, Budapest (HU)