Dries Depoorter's AI Surveillance Show at Bologna's Biblioteca Salaborsa

The exhibition 'When They See Us' at Bologna's Biblioteca Salaborsa examines the risks of artificial intelligence and biometric surveillance in our onlife existence. Part of the 'The Next Real' series curated by Sineglossa and promoted by The Good Lobby, Hermes Center for Digital Rights, and info.nodes, it features works by Belgian artist Dries Depoorter (b. 1991). 'Surveillance Speaker' (2018-2024) uses AI to describe real-time camera footage, questioning how surveillance alters behavior. 'Jaywalking' (2015-2024) livestreams CCTV footage of jaywalkers from various countries, inviting visitors to report infractions to police. 'Border Birds', a collaboration with his sister Bieke, uses AI cameras to capture birds crossing international borders; between March and April 2022, the software tracked over 3,474 birds at borders between Mexico and the US, Morocco and Spain, Greece and Turkey, and France and England. The show also includes Tactical Tech's 'The Glass Room: Misinformation Edition', an installation on data visualization and privacy risks. A roundtable titled 'What is an Author – Creating with Generative Artificial Intelligences' will take place on September 25 at 15:30 at Auditorium Biagi, organized by Sineglossa and Cineca, featuring experts Giovanni Leghissa and Maurizio Lana, as part of EU-funded projects GRIN S+T+ARTS and EUROPEAN DIGITAL DEAL, under the patronage of the Municipality of Bologna.