Face Values: Exploring Artificial Intelligence | Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

On a digital screen floats blobs containing an eye, nose, and mouth. A seated person with long brown hair is looking at the screen. The screen is surrounded by a gold frame with long black cords / wires around it.

A visitor interacts with Zachary Lieberman's Expression Mirror in Cooper Hewitt's "Face Values" installation at the 2018 London Design Biennale. Photo David Levene.

Posted by Nolan Hill on February 13, 2023

Presented in Cooper Hewitt’s Process Lab, Face Values: Exploring Artificial Intelligence is an immersive installation that explores the pervasive but often hidden role of facial-detection technology in contemporary society. This high-tech, provocative response investigates the human face as a living data source used by governments and businesses to track, measure, and monetize emotions. Using their own faces to control cameras and software, viewers experience the power and limitations of emotion recognition technologies through playful interactions that encourage awareness of these often hidden tools. Face Values speaks to the growing fascination around facial detection technology, particularly in the U.S., where major companies continue to experiment and push boundaries with this controversial software.

Featured Image: A visitor interacts with Zachary Lieberman's Expression Mirror in Cooper Hewitt's "Face Values" installation at the 2018 London Design Biennale. Photo David Levene.