Alexa Talks Pop
This is Alexa as an internet girl with lots to say. Is she woke or shady? Or… Both?
See it for yourself. Get Alexa’s take on recent pop culture topics.
To simulate activating Alexa: hover mouse over video, open the Annotations field and select what you would like to ask.
This project for CTCS 505: Interactive Media Survey was tested in class on October 2019. To ask Alexa about the following pre-programmed topics, people activated Amazon Echo by saying “Alexa” followed by “What do you think of ___”, “What are your thoughts on ___”, or “Do you like ___”. Topics available: 2020 Presidential Election; Area 51; Ariana Grande; Avengers: Endgame; Beyoncé; Billie Eilish; Bird Box; Dick Cheney; Euphoria; Game of Thrones; Interactive Media; James Charles; Jeffree Star; Jennifer Lopez; Joker; Kardashians; Kylie Jenner; La La Land; Lady Gaga; Marvel; Notre Dame Cathedral; Old Town Road; Queer Eye; Scarlett Johansson; Shallow; Shawn Mendes; Siri; Sophia (the A.I.); Tik Tok; Varsity Blues Scandal. People could also ask specific questions that provided answers about: Vsco girl; Nicki or Cardi; "Read me"; "Spill the tea"; and gender. Everyone in the class was given this list of topics and specific questions available.
Edit: When asking about Billie Eilish, the video should say "What do you think of Billie Eilish?"
ARTIST STATEMENT:
"In class we have discussed issues around A.I. being programmed as feminine characters, so with this project I wanted to explore the possibilities in disrupting with this traditional cookie-cutter feminine A.I. figure, which is stereotypically helpful, passive, calm, polite and even apologizes when insulted. What happens when Alexa has strong opinions on popular topics of discussion, especially when they are a bit controversial? Many of the answers in 'Alexa Talks Pop' interact with memes and viral content, which brings up a contemporary trend of utilizing internet culture as a form of language, train of thought and reactions. This topic was also discussed in one of our early classes related to remediation. 'Alexa Talks Pop' is woke, but also extremely shady, pointing to toxic Twitter culture, one where people are very vocal about advocating for social issues, but are also quick to brutally judge others and pit people against each other (especially women celebrities). This Alexa also uses terms familiar to the LGBTQIA+ online community as an attempt to break from the stereotypical woman-A.I. and queer the system. 'Alexa Talks Pop' is an interactive art piece and she should not be taken as seriously as she wishes."
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ALEXA TALKS POP
CREATED BY RAPHAEL ROSALEN
FOR CTCS 505: SURVEY OF INTERACTIVE MEDIA
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, SCHOOL OF CINEMATIC ARTS
FALL 2019