Working with Amnesty International and Stop Killer Robots
May 2022
Working in partnership with Amnesty International and Stop Killer Robots we recently convened a group of 33 members of the public at Amnesty HQ in Shoreditch, London, to answer 16 yes or no questions on divisive moral dilemmas.
We created an immersive environment, rich with atmospheric soundscapes and props. Colourful light-up blocks formed two side-by-side circles that represented yes and no answers.
Matt Mahmoudi, Amnesty’s researcher and adviser on artificial intelligence and human rights, was our wonderful host, guiding the participants through rapid and challenging decisions in silence. Participants responded by physically moving into the yes/no circles.
In addition to facilitating this interactive experience, Amnesty and Stop Killer Robots asked us to create a series of short films about the event for distribution online. We used an overhead camera that tracked participants, and our photographers nestled in amongst the action, documenting the deliberation and conflict in coming to a decision on each difficult topic. We combined the footage with interviews conducted post-experiment to create a set of engaging, one-minute videos for social media. The vox pops explored themes with more nuance, documenting authentic reactions from our participants.
Using a top-down shot, we crafted our core data visualisation film. This documented the flow of movement into the circles and the split of participants answering ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to some of the key questions. The footage leant towards GFX treatment to elevate the statistics element and foreground the individuals to key points.
Human beings are experts at processing nuance in a way machines cannot, and this resonated powerfully with our participants. The experience was unique and impactful, exploring an incredibly important issue in an unexpected way. When a simple survey would have sufficed, this immersive experience and data vis format encouraged people to process and deconstruct through being challenged and stimulated.
The hum of anticipation at Amnesty HQ and positive reception of the films has made all our hard work very worthwhile!