Cloak : Digital Camouflage

Transcript

1. HUMAN ENHANCEMENT, FASHIONABLY CLOAK : DIGITAL CAMOUFLAGE Fashioning Technology : Installation + Intervention ANDREW LAZAROW / KEMEYA HARPER / CARLIN M. WRAGG
2. SCENARIO Documentation is ubiquitous. We carry cameras everywhere, bundled into our phones or tucked into our backpacks. We photograph ourselves at home making dinner, with friends at parties, at school, at work, and out and about, and upload these images to the cloud, tagging the subjects ourselves, or letting a social network do the tagging for us with face detection algorithms.
3. SCENARIO Even as we document ourselves, we are being documented. » I was taking a photo in front of a parked Mercedes from a low POV. When I got up and looked over the car I saw her stand like this... I aimed, pressed and I even said "Headshot !"... she didn't notice a thing... ~Jeff Krol via Flickr photostream
4. SCENARIO Strangers catch us in their viewfinder as they photograph their families, snap an image of a spectacle on the street, or capture the view of a concert crowd.
5. SCENARIO Retail stores and public spaces monitor closed circuit cameras which record to a remote server.
6. SCENARIO Hybrid electric cars fitted with GPS, nine-lens cameras, and laser scanners crawl our streets, assembling an interactive photographic tableau for Google Street View.
7. SCENARIO A PhD candidate in computer science builds a “smart” face-tracking technology that “learns” to dynamically identify things in the world, and publishes a demo video on YouTube.
9. SCENARIO We’re already here.
10. SCENARIO How to we regain and retain control?
11. CONCEPT We propose to intervene at the moment of documentation
12. INSPIRATION Octopuses and cuttlefish. These animals change their skin color and, in some cases, skin texture to blend into their environment, using beautiful camouflage patterns to hide themselves from predators. Some species also use skin color to communicate.
13. CREDITS: doo.ri / Suzanne Rae / Rick Owens / Jil Sander / Boy, by Band of Outsiders / Thom Browne MOOD BOARD
16. CONCEPT By purchasing the garment, the owner will gain access to a simple software application, accessible across devices. When that photograph is accessed on a web-connected device, the digital watermark prompts the photographer to send the garment-wearer a message with a preview of the image and a request for permission to reveal her. In this software application, the garment-wearer can approve or deny the request, grant permission to use it through a Creative Commons license or, in turn, communicate with the photographer to request his permission to share the image herself. If permission is granted, she can use the software to publish the image across her social profile. If she denies permission, the photograph will stay as-is, and she will remain invisible.
17. EXISTING TECHNOLOGY Google Content ID. Adapted for photo indexing through facial recognition technology.
18. EXISTING TECHNOLOGY Invisible AR markers. Adapted for use with infrared fluorescent thread. (Patent documentation via Intel Labs)
19. CONCLUSION Through this textile, we seek to empower individuals to reassert control of their digital identities, and restore the reasonable expectation of privacy that was first addressed as a right in the United States in 1890. Some may use this technology to hide from the cameras. Others may use the images for self promotion as they map their movements across the social network. Either way, we believe individuals should have full control of their digital presence from the moment of documentation. We should not be forced to reconcile ourselves to an unfiltered online presence programmed as the default by transnational corporations and government entities. This textile seeks to restore the balance.