The Soci ‘o’ Meter imagines a future where AI-driven surveillance can identify, score, and rank individuals. A scenario that feels futuristic yet has already been in play for years. Framed in a nostalgic, retro aesthetic, the project exposes how long-standing systems of surveillance aren’t all too futuristic.

The project was developed within the context of artificial intelligence, public spaces, and democracy. It soon evolved into an exploration of surveillance systems. Technologies that use AI to monitor and identify individuals across the globe.

We began by experimenting with various AI systems that identify people in images, exploring their limitations and biases. By finding ways to challenge these systems, we developed methods to critique how AI interprets human identity. The project experiments with generating scores based on visual attributes. Clothing, facial structure, age, gender, race, expression, and so on. Exposing the reductive and problematic nature of such classifications.

Based on the classification score, users are either granted access to the club or denied entry. The club itself was designed to evoke curiosity and a subtle sense of FOMO (fear of missing out). Seeing your friend get in while you’re denied prompts reflection: how does that make you feel?