Sensus autem machina

We live in an age in which cameras are omnipresent in public space and it seems that the people got used to the video surveillance around them. Whether in large places, in small shops or in their private space, surveillance cameras promise people security. In addition, in recent years due to the increased performance from computer, machine learning has found its way more and more into our lives and technology seem to be getting more and more "intelligent". A technological consequence is the use of the increased "intelligence" to raise the efficiency of the surveillance.

In the installation “Sensus autem machina” (perception of the machine) I want to ask what kind of narrative arises when machines evaluate the image material from surveillance cameras and make statements about what is represented on the basis of object recognition.

With the installation my goal is to raise important questions. How “intelligent” are these machines really? What conclusions do machines draw from what they “see”? And what consequences can the use of machine learning have on us being monitored, if we blindly trust the machines?

Due to the COVID-19 situation in Germany the installation couldn't get exhibited yet.

The “Sensus autem machina” project is part of the “art of tracking” semester course under the direction of Moritz Schell at the HTW Berlin.