Biometric Mirror: Probing the Ethics of AI and Facial Analysis
Niels Wouters, Ph.D. About
innovating at the intersection of technology, design and human experience
I'm a Design Researcher based in Melbourne, Australia. I apply architectural design principles and approaches to enable ethical innovation. Primary areas of focus are artificial intelligence, facial recognition, and biometrics. My work reaches global audiences and highlights the importance of public participation in the quest to ensure that innovation creates tangible benefits for society. My commentary is featured regularly in print media and on television, where I discuss societal risks and opportunities of technology trends.
List of publications
Stories of Exile: Hyperlocal Media Architecture in Contested Spaces
Synchronized Wayfinding on Consecutively Situated Public Displays
Honeypot Effect: Audience Engagement in Interactive Installations
Social Influence of Full-Body Interaction with Public Displays
This paper presents the results towards the evaluation of content on public displays, and in particular of the impact on its 'users'. In an attempt to gather the reactions from local citizens on an existing urban display, we deployed four different research methods, i.e. contextual interviews, card ranking, interactive content demonstration and postcards. Our analysis has identified a wide range of methodological issues, including social barriers, time constraints, shallow responses and the difficulty in eliciting on-site creative thinking. As a potential solution to overcome these findings, we describe the initial results of a pilot case study involving a radically new approach, in which we allowed citizens to experience content creation and curation on a public display first-hand.
Selected Interviews and Press
„TikTok: Data Mining on the World's Most Popular App”, in ABC Four Corners
„The TikTok Spiral”, in ABC News
„Glowing Entrance Revealed for Melbourne's Newest Museum”, in Sydney Morning Herald
„All Hail the Algorithm”, in Al Jazeera
„Reflecting the Imperfections of AI”, in BBC News
„Perfect Humans: Good or Bad”, in The Age
„Should We Believe this Algorithm?”, in Sydney Morning Herald
„This AI Judges You Based on Our Biases”, in World Economic Forum
„Facial Scanning Abuse Looms”, in The Washington Times
„AI Deciphers your Personality”, in ABC, Triple J
„Media Architecture Changes the City”, in ABC Newcastle, Australia
„Make Friends While Printing”, in De Standaard, Belgium
„What if Houses Could Talk?”, in Campuskrant KU Leuven, Belgium
„Our Neighbors have Something to Tell”, in Radio 1, Belgium
„If Houses Could Talk...”, in De Standaard Avond, Belgium