Using art to confuse AI? What we can learn from Muslim artists in Singapore
ChatGPT and other forms of artificial intelligence (AI) are playing an increasingly significant role in our daily lives and across society. Driven in part by the promise of greater efficiency, faster processes and new possibilities, the adoption of AI is also growing within organisations and government bodies. But what does this mean for the way governments operate, and what are the broader implications of deploying AI in society?
In Singapore, where the government is increasingly incorporating AI into its operations, James explored these questions as part of their PhD research. The research forms part of the wider One Amongst Zeroes project, which explores AI imaginaries in the Muslim community across Southeast Asia. Within this project, James examines the implications of AI in government, with a particular focus on the Muslim community. In the accompanying video, James discusses the research and shares some of its key insights.
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Watch the video on the original website orUsing art to confuse
During their research, James worked mostly with Muslim artists who refused to confine themselves in this binary of choices. These artists did not give up information, but neither did they accept that their voices would remain unheard. ‘What they often do is mirror the way in which these technologies work and enable to try and understand and grapple with the kinds of choices that are being made about their lives by the government. Something which is usually quite obfuscated from us.’
Blurring
This is a process that James describes as ‘blurring’. The artists tried to imagine how the governmental systems worked and how those systems would think about them and their identies. ‘And in this way they found interesting ways of presenting their idiosyncratic, identity in public ways, that are not always understandable for large language models or any other kind of like technology. So often they would make abstract art which would talk about the diversity of Muslim identity within the country in ways that like AI systems or even a government official could not understand.’
James concludes:’I think increasingly it’s something we will all have to try to do in different ways. Think about how we can exist in public space and make ourselves heard without making ourselves vulnerable to the surveillance of the state.’