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Aesthetics of Bias

Exploring a reflective, interactive, and expressive manifestation of biased human-human interactions

THE WINDOW: DETECTING SPEAKING

This practice-based research explores how bias can be creatively expressed in technology design and transformed into tangible experiences. Through materializing bias, this installation reveals new aesthetic possibilities that emerge or disappear in relation to how people interact with one another.

ā€œThe Aesthetics of Biasā€, highlighting and amplifying what disrupts the balance in human relations.

This project encourages a deeper reflection on whether our biases selectively honor who speaks and allow a dominant voice to prevail in a meeting, thereby preventing us from hearing diverse perspectives. By using four everyday objects trained and acted upon by machine learning, ā€œThe Aesthetics of Biasā€ progressively produces palpable provocations when dominance has not been addressed among people.

First, the window starts with ́Detecting the Direction of Speaking ́ and signaling it by the breaking effect in the windowpanes. Second, the sugar jar follows up by ́Indicating Dominant Personnel ́ by simultaneously chasing the person’s face, aiming to pointing a laser beam at their mouth. Third, the coffee pot continues to 'Responding to Dominance' in a more physical way, walking towards the dominant person's nearest cup and even dripping coffee on the dominating person ́s lap. Lastly, the table threw all objects that were in front of the dominating person onto the floor as ́Interrupting the Situation ́.

This aesthetics could be completely changed depending on how people relate to each other. If dominance did not prevail or was interrupted, the aesthetics of bias would not appear.

About Young Suk Lee and Daniel Saakes

Young Suk Lee is a postdoctoral researcher at the UmeƄ Institute of Design and UmArts, the Research Centre for Architecture, Design and the Arts at UmeƄ University.

Daniel Saakes is an associate professor at the University of Twente.

THE COFFEE POT: REACTING TO THE DOMINANCE

THE SUGAR JAR:
POINTING TO DOMINANT PERSONNEL

THE TABLETOP: INTERRUPTING THE SITUATION

THE COFFEE POT: DELIBERATELY PRODUCING "MISTAKES"

West area, Next Nature Museum, Noord Brabantlaan 1A , Map No. C1
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Fully Wheelchair Accessible
Wifi available
Toilets available