The first idea I have is an interactive data visualization on algorithmic bias found in AI generated stories. Heavily inspired by Joy Buolamwini's research and activism in the field, I hope to create an interactive piece developed using statistics found in the research papers “"Gender Shades: Intersectional Accuracy Disparities in Commercial Gender Classification” (Joy Buolamwini) and “Laissez-Faire Harms: Algorithmic Biases in Generative Language Models” (Evan Shieh). How does algorithmic bias in Chat GPT and facial recognition models exist and what are the dangers that they pose on our society, especially the youth that takes AI for granted as "objective" computation? How can we make more people cognizant of this algorithmic bias?
A potential extension of this project would be to create an application where people could type in prompts such as "top 10 famous artists, directors, etc." and find out what the demographics of the recognized figures reflect (which often bias Western + white public figures).
Artists to reference: Joy Buolamwini, Jonathan Zong
The second project is an electronic textile lion dance head sculpture illuminating the textile garment industry and history behind Chinatown. It will map a patchwork of found fabrics embedded with stories from local textile workers. Later on during Lunar New Year, it will contain a lion dance performance in Chinatown open to the public and inviting all those involved with the project.
Reference: The Chinatown Art Brigade, the WOW Project, Joy Mao
The third idea is a continuation of a project I've been working on "to you 100 years into the future. I wish to create a website archive and network of discarded fabrics and the stories / goodbye letters each person has written when discarding it.
“to you 100 years into the future” currently contains a fabric stew of nostalgic colors and prints made from silk, polyester, cotton, denim, and others. Each discarded textile was transformed given a character to play—a bowl, a table, a monitor, a potted plant, a teacup—into a newly constructed home. The project explores the ways we transcribe our stories into permanence through the textiles that outlive us.
Textile contributions are traceable pre- and post- transformation through embroidered ID numbers, which will also be the organization method through which people can find each item as a link. Each household item is named “titem”, a play on the words “(t)ransformed item” and “totem”, followed by an ID number. Visitors of the site are encouraged to peruse the documentation of the transformation process and the memories recounted by contributors.
Website references include: Screenshot Garden, Handmade Web, Laurel Schwulst