"I see it, so you don't have to"
A 2x3 meter wall hanging, woven on a traditional Jacquard Loom, shedding light on the harsh work conditions faced by underpaid micro-workers labouring in the data and content moderation sector of the AI industry.
The success of the world's largest corporations rests on artificial intelligence (AI), often praised as "self-learning" and "super intelligent." However, the reality is different, as thousands of underpaid micro workers worldwide slave away to assembly data and moderate content that feeds the AI algorithms. Hidden behind screens and algorithmic processes, the humans behind the machine, endure poor work conditions, time pressure and automation processes created with the sole purpose of optimizing machine performance. Consequently, they suffer from stress, anxiety, and depression, their struggles masked by the guise of technological advancement.
The artist has worked closely with content moderators who shared their lived experiences of work-related mental health issues. The artwork sheds light on the invisible labour force propelling the wheels of tech capitalism, as an embodiment of their voices’ stories.
Entangling technologies of the part and the present, the work utilize machine learning to create a complex image that takes the form of a 2x3 meter wall hanging, woven on a traditional Jacquard loom. By intertwining the historical legacy of industrialized labour practices with the contemporary digital labour the piece brings to the forefront how the tech industry reproduces colonial exploitation of human labour as seen in the textile industry of the first industrial revolution.
Where historically one would make a tapestry for the powerful people in society for example a king or to celebrate a victory, “I see it, so you don’t have to” is a contemporary wall hanging that pays tribute to the unsung humans behind the machine.
Artwork:
"I see it, so you don't have to"
Artist:
Cecilie Waagner Falkenstrøm
ARTificial Mind:
Cecilie Waagner Falkenstrøm, Artist
Cody Lukas, Assistant Artist
Jens Hegner Strærmose, Software Engineer
Alexander Krog, Software Engineer
Asbjørn Olling, Software Engineer
Year:
2023
Media:
Cotton and viscose wall hanging produced on Jacquard loom created with generative artificial intelligence technology (machine learning, diffusion).
The artwork was developed when the artist was international artist-in-residence at the Wellcome Collection as part of Wellcome Trust’s Mindscapes program.
Thank you to the digital curatorial team and textile team at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) for their contribution in developing the work.
Thanks to the content moderators who shared their lived experiences. And a special thanks to former content moderator Selena Scola for her collaborative contribution.
Exhibitions:
"I see it, so you don't have to", Mindscapes: In the company of others, MAP The Museum of Art & Photography, Bengaluru, India, 20. April 2023 - 6. August 2024