Chatlot (2024)

ChatLot is a speculative project exploring AI’s role in replacing affective and emotional labor in personal relationships. Trained on 10,000 deeply personal WhatsApp messages, the chatbot raises questions about intimacy, consent, and the ethics of using private data in AI systems. It also examines the environmental cost of AI, highlighting its reliance on resource-intensive infrastructure.

The installation reveals the hidden layers of AI through interactive elements: a screen showing chatbot data queries, a thermal printer producing reflective AI responses, a LED ticker displaying real-time energy consumption, and a live stream of server spaces. ChatLot confronts the implications of automating emotional labor and redefines our relationship with technology.