Black Boxes
In front of you, lined up across a table, are six hardboard boxes, painted black. Printed on the boxes lids are short descriptive texts, unique to each box:
Based off of the tasters that have been shared, creates an image of colors and textures to bring warmth and familiarity into our spaces
Places a complex shape in diverse visual environments, teaching us the variety of contexts in which shapes can be interpreted
Provides information around a central topic, liberating us from the confines of the master-apprentice model of skill-learning
Given a genre of interest, delivers the user a playlist of songs that they are certain to enjoy
Encapsulates the psyche and character of a deceased science fiction author, allowing us to interact with him in ways that would otherwise be impossible
Preserves the musings, moods, and styles of high school, providing us the opportunity to revisit these potentially forgotten, yet familiar, modes of thought
Each box holds a unique object, which is also laden with a short descriptive text. The objects vary in form; there are several books, a CD, a painting. The text on each of these objects is a brief narrative describing its significance to my life.
My friend Anna gifted this to me when I left home for college. It now hangs on the wall in front of my desk, where I Skype call my parents.
I received this book from a friend’s mother, who determined it would be a good gift when she heard that I was going to become an engineer.
The public library back home has a fundraising bookstore where I found this Boy Scouts guide. I feel like it’s a cute throwback artifact.
The car that I learned to drive in only had a CD player. Looping through this twenty-song compilation taught me to love funk music.
When the new Blade Runner movie came out, I spent my whole weekend submerged in its source text. It’s complicated to be inspired by the words of complicated, gross people.
Many of my favorite moments of high school were with our Lit Mag staff. I came across this magazine while visiting my brother’s home in LA.
With this project, I wanted to chip away at the divide that exists between tech and non-tech worlds. In a literal sense, these black boxes represent the algorithmic black boxes that we associate with contemporary forms of artificial intelligence. While AI and machine learning currently feel like synonymous terms in the tech sphere, machine learning is just the contemporary mainstream embodiment of artificial intelligence. Looking back to past embodiments, we see automata, clocks, and the Gollum (as pointed out by Pamela McCorduck); our current associations limit artificial intelligences to computational, digital algorithms.
In this piece, each box, representing a black box model, is described by what it does, in terms that align with our standards for talking about machines and algorithms. There is an exchange to every text; you give it a genre and it gives you songs, you give it attention and it gives you a being, etc. Our language around tech is exchange-based and centers on “using.” Opening up the box, you see the object that was performing that exchange. Rather than a long, detailed algorithm, the commander of the black box’s actions is an earthly object.
Special thank you to Madi for the box-hinge design, Grace for the tempura-painting artistry, Joel for the mid-project guidance (and forever inspiration), and Emma for checking my thoughts with reality.