Beyond (the sea and) the Uncanny Valleys and American Smiles is a single-player journaling role-playing game (RPG) that explores how the rest of the world appears under the colonial gaze of Silicon Valley’s AI. Join us for a play-testing session, where, through gameplay, we reflect on the technology’s (mis)representation of our own local community in an accessible, non-academic way.
Set in a world where Western AI companies have colonized new territories, players assume the role of a solitary cartographer. The players are tasked with navigating and documenting the shifting landscapes of their hometown, transformed by the imperial processes of Western generative AI. Through interactions with various AI colonial systems, players will traverse the land and sketch a map of their experiences—the places they see, the inhabitants they meet, and their reflections. Be wary of colonial agents serving Big Tech AI companies, and scrutinize their answers carefully!
The workshop will be held in English. No prior knowledge of AI is required.
Alexia Achilleos is a Finnish-Cypriot artist and researcher based in Cyprus, with a background in fine art, archaeology and cultural studies. Alexia is interested in the power dynamics that impact history, geopolitics and technology, with a focus on the Eastern Mediterranean. By investigating data and utilising machine learning processes, she aims to re-examine such topics from a local perspective. Her work re-interprets dominant narratives and questions biases found within history and society, but also within AI technology itself, particularly challenging the idea of technology as universal and objective.
Alexia is a PhD Fellow at CYENS Centre of Excellence, undertaking artistic research on colonialism and AI, as well as a Research Associate at the Media Art & Design Research Lab (MADLab) at Cyprus University of Technology.
Website
alexiaachilleos.com
Instagram
www.instagram.com/alexia.achilleos
Beyond (the sea and) the Uncanny Valleys and American Smiles is a single-player journaling role-playing game (RPG) that explores how the rest of the world appears under the colonial gaze of Silicon Valley’s AI. Join us for a play-testing session, where, through gameplay, we reflect on the technology’s (mis)representation of our own local community in an accessible, non-academic way.
Set in a world where Western AI companies have colonized new territories, players assume the role of a solitary cartographer. The players are tasked with navigating and documenting the shifting landscapes of their hometown, transformed by the imperial processes of Western generative AI. Through interactions with various AI colonial systems, players will traverse the land and sketch a map of their experiences—the places they see, the inhabitants they meet, and their reflections. Be wary of colonial agents serving Big Tech AI companies, and scrutinize their answers carefully!
The workshop will be held in English. No prior knowledge of AI is required.
Alexia Achilleos is a Finnish-Cypriot artist and researcher based in Cyprus, with a background in fine art, archaeology and cultural studies. Alexia is interested in the power dynamics that impact history, geopolitics and technology, with a focus on the Eastern Mediterranean. By investigating data and utilising machine learning processes, she aims to re-examine such topics from a local perspective. Her work re-interprets dominant narratives and questions biases found within history and society, but also within AI technology itself, particularly challenging the idea of technology as universal and objective.
Alexia is a PhD Fellow at CYENS Centre of Excellence, undertaking artistic research on colonialism and AI, as well as a Research Associate at the Media Art & Design Research Lab (MADLab) at Cyprus University of Technology.
Website
alexiaachilleos.com
Instagram
www.instagram.com/alexia.achilleos
