AI-Driven Interactive Installation
Exploring Autonomous Weapons and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Droning is an interactive art installation that explores the ethical and technological complexities of modern warfare, where artificial intelligence and autonomous weapon systems dominate. Through the exploration of military drones’ algorithmic vision, the installation immerses the viewer in the stark realities of contemporary conflict.
Central to the installation is a suspended dirigible, symbolizing the omnipresent yet unseen nature of drones. This AI-driven surveillance system detects, tracks, and analyzes individuals in real-time, recreating the oppressive atmosphere of a combat zone.
The project sheds light the concept of “algorithmic targeting,” a critical function of automated weapon systems. Integrated into the dirigible, an AI-controlled “algorithmic targeting assistant” classifies individuals based on their postures and movements into categories of civilians or combatants.
The art installation also includes a ground control station, which displays the outcomes of this targeting process, showing how potential threats are identified and classified as enemies or neutrals. The AI’s ability to issue strike recommendations creates a scenario where technology wields the power to make life-or-death decisions.
By employing open-source AI models specialized in human detection, tracking and analysis, the installation scrutinizes visitors’ movements, mirroring the invasive surveillance characteristic of modern warfare. A custom dataset, comprising authentic videos of combatants in training or conflict zones, further refines these models, highlighting the unsettling proximity between art and the realities of war.
Droning not only reveals the algorithmic mechanisms behind autonomous weapons but also immerses visitors in the pervasive and relentless surveillance that defines modern drone warfare. The art installation challenges the audience to confront the moral and human implications of AI-driven conflict, encouraging a deep reflection on the consequences of living under the unyielding gaze of technological warfare.
Marta Revuelta is a media artist and an interaction designer living and working in Geneva. She earned her Master’s degree in Interaction Design (Media Design) from the Geneva University of Art and Design, HEAD — Genève in 2018.
Fascinated by emerging technologies and their control mechanisms, she focuses her research towards the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the areas of security, surveillance systems, and techno-military ecosystems. Specifically, she is drawn to the ethical challenges as well as the drifts and risks associated with AI, making these ethical dilemmas the very core of her work.
