Art that reveals how technology frames reality | Jiabao Li

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: NAN-KUN WU

I'm an artist and an engineer.

我是藝術家，也是工程師。

And lately, I've been thinking a lot about how technology mediates

最近，對於科技如何居中影響

我們感知現實，我想了很多。

the way we perceive reality.

And it's being done in a superinvisible and nuanced way.

科技已經以一種超級隱形 且微妙的方式居中影響了。

Technology is designed to shape our sense of reality

科技用把它自己偽裝成 真實體驗的方式，

by masking itself as the actual experience of the world.

來形塑我們對現實的感受。

As a result, we are becoming unconscious and unaware

因此，我們完全沒有意識到

that it is happening at all.

它其實一直在發生著。

Take the glasses I usually wear, for example.

以我通常在戴的眼鏡為例。

These have become part of the way I ordinarily experience my surroundings.

眼鏡已經變成我平常 體驗環境的方式的一部分。

I barely notice them,

我幾乎不會注意到它，

even though they are constantly framing reality for me.

即使它經常在為我構建現實。

The technology I am talking about is designed to do the same thing:

我所談的科技， 其設計目的也是一樣的：

change what we see and think

以完全不被注意到的方式

but go unnoticed.

改變我們的所見、所想。

Now, the only time I do notice my glasses

只有一種情況下 我會注意到我有戴眼鏡，

is when something happens to draw my attention to it,

那就是發生了某件事， 把我的注意力拉到眼鏡上，

like when it gets dirty or my prescription changes.

比如眼鏡被弄髒， 或者我的度數改變。

So I asked myself, "As an artist, what can I create

所以，我問我自己： 「身為藝術家，

我能創造什麼，來把同樣的注意力

to draw the same kind of attention

to the ways digital media -- like news organizations, social media platforms,

帶到數位媒體——如

新聞組織、社群媒體平台、

advertising and search engines --

廣告，和搜尋引擎——

are shaping our reality?"

看看它們如何形塑現實。

So I created a series of perceptual machines

所以，我創作了 一系列的感知機器，

to help us defamiliarize and question

來協助我們破除對世界的熟悉感，

並質疑我們看世界的方式。

the ways we see the world.

For example, nowadays, many of us have this kind of allergic reaction

比如，現今，我們許多人

對於和我們不同的想法 會產生過敏反應。

to ideas that are different from ours.

We may not even realize that we've developed this kind of mental allergy.

我們可能甚至沒發現我們 已經發展出了這種心理過敏。

So I created a helmet that creates this artificial allergy to the color red.

所以我製做了一頂頭盔，能創造出

對紅色這種顏色的人工過敏。

It simulates this hypersensitivity by making red things look bigger

當你戴上這頭盔，它模擬 這種過敏症的方式就是

讓紅色的東西看起來比較大。

when you are wearing it.

It has two modes: nocebo and placebo.

它有兩種模式： 反安慰劑和安慰劑。

In nocebo mode, it creates this sensorial experience of hyperallergy.

用反安慰劑模式時， 它會創造出過敏症的感覺體驗。

Whenever I see red, the red expands.

每當我看見紅色，紅色就會擴張。

It's similar to social media's amplification effect,

這和社群媒體的放大效應很類似，

like when you look at something that bothers you,

比如，當你看到讓你反感的事物，

you tend to stick with like-minded people

你會傾向留在同溫層，

and exchange messages and memes, and you become even more angry.

和想法相似的人交流訊息 和迷因，結果你會更生氣。

Sometimes, a trivial discussion gets amplified

有時，很瑣碎的討論會被放大

and blown way out of proportion.

並擴大到非常不成比例的程度。

Maybe that's even why we are living in the politics of anger.

也許這甚至是我們活在 「憤怒的政治」下的原因。

In placebo mode, it's an artificial cure for this allergy.

用安慰劑模式，則會提供 這種過敏的人工解藥。

Whenever you see red, the red shrinks.

每當你看到紅色，紅色就會縮小。

It's a palliative, like in digital media.

它是種緩和劑，就像數位媒體。

When you encounter people with different opinions,

當你遇到意見不同的人，

we will unfollow them,

我們就不會追隨他們， 完全取消追蹤他們的動態。

remove them completely out of our feeds.

It cures this allergy by avoiding it.

它治癒這種過敏的 方式是「避開」。

But this way of intentionally ignoring opposing ideas

但這種刻意忽略相反想法的方式

makes human community hyperfragmented and separated.

會讓人類共同體變得 超分散且分裂。

The device inside the helmet reshapes reality

頭盔裡面的裝置能重塑現實，

and projects into our eyes through a set of lenses

透過一組鏡片， 投射到你的眼睛上，

to create an augmented reality.

來創造擴增實境。

I picked the color red, because it's intense and emotional,

我選中紅色，是因為 這個顏色很強烈且情緒化，

it has high visibility

它非常顯眼，

and it's political.

且它有政治味。

So what if we take a look

所以，如果我們用這個頭盔來看

at the last American presidential election map

上次美國總統大選的地圖呢？

through the helmet?

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

You can see that it doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or a Republican,

各位可以看見，不論你是 民主黨或共和黨都一樣，

because the mediation alters our perceptions.

因為中介影響會改變我們的感知。

The allergy exists on both sides.

雙方都有過敏。

In digital media,

在數位媒體中，

what we see every day is often mediated,

我們每天所見的資訊， 通常都已受中介影響，

but it's also very nuanced.

但這影響非常微妙。

If we are not aware of this,

如果我們沒有意識到，

we will keep being vulnerable to many kinds of mental allergies.

我們就會一直無法 抵抗多種心理過敏。

Our perception is not only part of our identities,

我們的感知不僅是 我們身分的一部分，

but in digital media, it's also a part of the value chain.

在數位媒體中， 它也是價值鏈的一部分。

Our visual field is packed with so much information

我們的視野中塞滿了資訊，

that our perception has become a commodity with real estate value.

因此我們的感知已經變成了

有不動產價值的商品。

Designs are used to exploit our unconscious biases,

很多設計都利用了 我們的無意識偏見，

algorithms favor content that reaffirms our opinions,

用演算法找出我們偏好的內容 讓我們更堅信自己的意見，

so that every little corner of our field of view is being colonized

這麼一來，我們 視野中的每個小角落

都會被開拓來賣廣告。

to sell ads.

Like, when this little red dot comes out in your notifications,

比如，當這個小紅點 出現在你的通知圖示上，

it grows and expands, and to your mind, it's huge.

它會長大、擴展， 對你的心靈而言它很巨大。

So I started to think of ways to put a little dirt,

所以，我開始想辦法弄髒

or change the lenses of my glasses,

我的眼鏡或是改變鏡片度數，

and came up with another project.

因而想出了另一個計畫。

Now, keep in mind this is conceptual. It's not a real product.

請記住，這不是真實產品， 只是概念性的。

It's a web browser plug-in

它是瀏覽器的外掛程式，

that could help us to notice the things that we would usually ignore.

能協助我們注意到 我們通常會忽略的東西。

Like the helmet, the plug-in reshapes reality,

就像那頂頭盔一樣， 這個外掛能重塑現實，

but this time, directly into the digital media itself.

但這次，是直接 進入到數位媒體本身。

It shouts out the hidden filtered voices.

它會喊出被過濾掉的隱藏聲音。

What you should be noticing now

你現在應該要注意到的東西 會變得更大且會震動，

will be bigger and vibrant,

like here, this story about gender bias emerging from the sea of cats.

像這裡，關於性別偏見的故事 從一片貓海中浮現。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

The plug-in could dilute the things that are being amplified by an algorithm.

這個外掛可以將演算法 所放大的東西給稀釋。

Like, here in this comment section,

比如，在這個留言區，

there are lots of people shouting about the same opinions.

有很多人都在 大聲嚷嚷同一種意見，

The plug-in makes their comments super small.

而這個外掛就讓 他們的留言變得超級小。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So now the amount of pixel presence they have on the screen

所以，他們在螢幕上有多少像素，

is proportional to the actual value they are contributing to the conversation.

就會對應到他們對於對談的 實際貢獻價值有多高。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

(Applause)

（掌聲）

The plug-in also shows the real estate value of our visual field

這個外掛也會展示出 我們視野中的不動產價值，

and how much of our perception is being commoditized.

以及我們有多少感知 已經被商品化。

Different from ad blockers,

和廣告攔截程式不同，

for every ad you see on the web page,

針對你在網頁上 所看到的每則廣告，

it shows the amount of money you should be earning.

它都會顯示出你應該 賺到的錢有多少。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

We are living in a battlefield between reality

我們生活在戰場上，

and commercial distributed reality,

現實和商業分配現實之間在作戰，

so the next version of the plug-in could strike away that commercial reality

所以，下一版的外掛 可以趕跑那商業現實，

and show you things as they really are.

讓你看見一切真正的樣貌。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Well, you can imagine how many directions this could really go.

各位可以想像，這個外掛 有多少方向可以去發展。

Believe me, I know the risks are high if this were to become a real product.

相信我，我知道如果它變成 真實的產品，風險會很高。

And I created this with good intentions

我創造它是出於好意，

to train our perception and eliminate biases.

想要訓練我們的感知並消除偏見。

But the same approach could be used with bad intentions,

但同樣的方法也可以 用在不好的地方，比如

like forcing citizens to install a plug-in like that

強迫公民安裝那樣的外掛，

to control the public narrative.

來控制對公眾敘事的方式。

It's challenging to make it fair and personal

困難之處在於要讓它 公平、個人使用，

without it just becoming another layer of mediation.

不能變成另一層的中介影響。

So what does all this mean for us?

所以，上述這些 對我們有什麼意涵？

Even though technology is creating this isolation,

雖然科技正在造成這種孤立，

we could use it to make the world connected again

但我們也可以用科技 讓世界再次連結，

by breaking the existing model and going beyond it.

要做的是打破既有模型， 不要受限於它。

By exploring how we interface with these technologies,

藉由探索我們能如何 和這些技術接合，

we could step out of our habitual, almost machine-like behavior

我們就能踏出我們習慣性 且幾乎是機械式的行為，

and finally find common ground between each other.

最終在彼此之間找到共同點。

Technology is never neutral.

科技從來就不是中立的。

It provides a context and frames reality.

它能提供情境，也能修飾現實。

It's part of the problem and part of the solution.

它是問題的一部分， 也是解決方案的一部分。

We could use it to uncover our blind spots and retrain our perception

我們可以用科技 來發掘我們的盲點，

並重新訓練我們的感知，

and consequently, choose how we see each other.

這麼一來，我們就能選擇 我們如何看待彼此。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）