Since 2014 WE ARE DATA has been working to raise awareness of the possibilities of face analysis and emotion detection. The technology we use in the installation is suddenly in the news because there are advertising columns at Dutch stations and shopping centres that film and count passers. If someone stays standing, the software can identify personal attributes such as gender and age. The Dutch Privacy Authority is examining whether this is aloud. We are curious about the outcome of their research.
From 19 – 21 August 2016 the WE ARE DATA – Mirror Room will be present at the Dutch LowLands festival. Come and visit at the Cape Lowlands site from 10:00-22:00.
Dutch website HetKanWel (Yes It Can) explains how data contributes to a greener, more honest and nicer life. But that it may have a darker side as well.
Monday 27 June the WE ARE DATA – Mirror Room left it’s first location: FabCity in Amsterdam. Thank you for being a great audience. And see you soon at our next event!
In our current society the sharing of personal data has become an important part, but the impact is not yet clear to everyone. WE ARE DATA attempts to change that. Considerati has contributed to the development of the Mirror Room by giving legal advice with respect to privacy.
Recently Fonds21 visited the WE ARE DATA – Mirror Room. According to the sponsor of the project, WE ARE DATA makes an interesting translation of a complicated subject to a wide and diverse audience. The project manages to cast the current “state of the art” technology in a multimedia experience that fits well with the urgent issues of the current generation.
It’s Friday the 13th. When two ladies of the company Noldus enter the FabCity campus a vague feeling comes over them… They are confronted with slogans like ‘the future has arrived’, ‘drinking water is getting scarcer’ and ‘how do we use and abuse data?’. Between the pavilions, installations and prototypes of the future of everyday life they find their destination: the WE ARE DATA – Mirror Room.
People should realize how collecting, selling and using data even if they don’t know this is happening, can have a profound impact on their personal and professional life. The WE ARE DATA – Mirror Room contributes to the awareness.
Dutch broadcaster VPRO is (media)partner of the project WE ARE DATA – Mirror Room. The multimedia installation allows people the experience how it feels to ‘become data’. VPRO’s Ellen van Dalen visits the Mirror Room and shares experiences in an online article.
Emmie Kollau of the Dutch VPRO radio program ‘Nooit meer Slapen’ (Never Sleep) made a report on the WE ARE DATA – Mirror Room and Big Data. Initiator Tijl Akkermans and technical specialist Tjerk Kostelijk are interviewed.
Whether you like it or not, your data is continuously monitored and stored. The WE ARE DATA – Mirror Room shows you what data can be collected with the help of new technology. According to the Dutch online magazine BRIGHT it is much more confrontational than you think. > Read the article on bright.nl (in Dutch)
On 11 April 2016 Minister Bussemaker and Mayor van der Laan will officially open the FabCity campus, part of the celebration of the Dutch Presidency of the European Union. During the ceremony the WE ARE DATA – Mirror Room is mentioned, because the collection of personal data and the debate about privacy is an important EU topic.
After an intensive period of building and development, the time has come: the WE ARE DATA – Mirror Room is transported to its first location. At the FabCity campus in Amsterdam, however, considerable tinkering is needed to finish the installation. The Mirror Room will have a number of days for tests with the FabCity public. The official kick-off will take place on 13 May.
Tonight was the second WE ARE DATA evening held in Pakhuis de Zwijger. Programmed by Baltan Laboratories in cooperation with De Waag Society, the Rathenau Institute and Europe by People, a large audience came off to think and talk about the increased intimacy between technology and our bodies.
Hack the body is one of the multi-annual programs by Baltan Laboratories in Eindhoven. In this program they explore the relationship between technology and human beings through artistic research. WE ARE DATA is one of the selected projects. Starting today Hack the body also has a website about the program, the projects and the research.
Today 80 students from the Fontys Hogeschool ICT Eindhoven and Tilburg have presented their final assignment to the WE ARE DATA initiators Tijl Akkermans and Hester Swaving. During a half year assignment this group of students explored the possible implementation of the eye tracker in the WE ARE DATA Mirror Room. We were surprised by the creative and extraordinary ideas by the students and the energy they have put into our project.
Tonight was the first WE ARE DATA event in Pakhuis de Zwijger in Amsterdam. In cooperation with De Waag Society, the Rathenau Institute, Baltan Laboratories and Europe by People, an audience of 150 people dived into the subject of “Quantified Self”. Several speakers gave their views on our handling with and the future of personal data.
In 2015 Big Data was the central theme. In 2016 Emotional Data is the subject of the year! In this article as well. Companies expect a lot of technology that can read emotions from faces. What are they doing with it? Three applications are described. “Every yawn or look of disapproval is recorded accurately.”
The FaceReader technology developed by our partner Vicar Vision in Amsterdam is used for serious scientific research and stunning projects, such as helping autistic and visually impaired people in assessing and understanding emotions. But there are also funny applications possible with such a new technique. Take for example the Gigglebug’s Face Race. A huge hit among kids!
The face tells us everything, is what they say. But is that really true? Or is it more the body that seduces and exposes? This article with the expert Ron has Dotsch put, amongst others, the WE ARE DATA team on the track to measure, in particular, very personal (emotional) data from visitors. This personal data really an open book about who a person really is.
