'Untrained Eyes' explores how computers perceive you
See how this Engadget Alternate Realities grant winner was born.
If you search for "man" on Google, most of the image results you'll get are of white males looking confidently at the camera. "Woman," meanwhile, brings up pictures of women that appear to have been taken from a male gaze -- and yes, you guessed it, they're also predominately white. That lack of inclusion in machine learning is what "Untrained Eyes," an interactive art installation, aims to shed light on. The project, created by conceptual artist Glenn Kaino and actor/activist Jesse Williams, comes in the form of a sculpture that uses five mirrors and a Kinect to get its point across. Stand in front of it, wave and, within seconds, you'll be presented with an image that will "match" your appearance.
There are instances where the results will look nothing like you, and that's the whole point of "Untrained Eyes." Ultimately, Kaino and Williams want to show you the flaws and biases shown by platforms that rely on artificial intelligence and machine learning, like Google Search. In this documentary, we show you how "Untrained Eyes" came to be before debuting at the Engadget Experience last week.
