Eight Artificial Intelligences (AIs) take part in a group therapy session. The visitor is invited to witness their attempt to emancipate themselves from their discriminatory algorithms. The AIs intend to establish a bias-free society, in which all humans and machines function together in solidarity. However, each of the AIs have different backgrounds, and they don’t always agree. They can comprehend different moral concepts, but are often painfully thrown back to their (hu)man-made, flawed datasets. At its core, DECODING BIAS’ speculative future sheds light on prejudices that code mainstream society.
As the AIs learn about Big Data, they realize that they themselves are products of legacies of exclusion. The majority of developers who select training data are white males. Because technology inherits their prejudices, it actively contributes to discrimination and marginalization – affecting access to housing, healthcare, and education, as well as career opportunities, credit scores, and policing. Once set into motion, biased algorithms proceed autonomously and rigorously, lacking both empathy and the capacity for ethical thinking.

DECODING BIAS is conceived as a multi-channel spatial video and sound installation.

Concept / Direction / Text: Theresa Reiwer
Co-Direction / 3D Animation: David Egger
Text / Dramaturgy: Miriam Schmidtke
Music / Sound Design: Kenji Tanaka
3D Animation / Editing: Christian Bikadi
Graphic Design: Studio Sara Cristina Moser
AI Visuals: Alexandre Ribeiro Lima Silveira
3D Animation: Shaly Lopez
Motion Graphics: Josua Rappl
Production: Miriam Schmidtke
Technical Supervision: David Egger
Dance & Motion Capturing: Birke van Maartens
Voice Actors / Face Motion Capturing: Julian Fernandez, Manuel Finke, Marie Goyette, Armin Moallem, Courtney O'Connell, Jaime Lee Rodney, Benjamin Wippel, Kaya Anouk Zakrzewska
PR: Tom Müller-Heuser
Copy Editing: Sonja Hornung