About

Are secrets uniquely​ ​human?​ Our​ ​private​ ​lives ​are mediated and​ ​recorded​ ​by​ ​digital​ ​devices. ​Where​ ​are​ ​our​ ​secrets​ ​now? ​How​ ​will​ ​intelligent systems​ ​of​ ​the​ ​future​ ​process​ ​the​ ​data ​we​ ​leave​ ​behind?​ ​Will​ ​they​ ​know​ ​things​ ​about​ ​us that​ ​we​ ​don’t​ ​(and​ ​never​ ​could)​ ​know​ ​about​ ​ourselves?

The​ ​Future​ ​of​ ​Secrets​​ ​is​ ​an​ ​interactive​ ​installation​ created by Sarah Newman, Jessica Yurkofsky, and Rachel Kalmar from metaLAB at Harvard. It is an immersive experience that includes sound, projection, and interaction; the installation asks​ ​participants​ ​to​ ​anonymously share​ ​their​ ​secrets ​as​ ​a​ ​way​ ​to​ question​ ​the​ ​trust we​ ​place​ ​in​ ​machines​, and ultimately​ ​reflect​ back​ ​our​ ​own​ ​humanness.​ ​What​ ​does​ ​it​ ​mean for​ ​us​ ​to​ ​share​ ​so​ ​much​ ​of​ ​ourselves​ ​through ​complex ​systems and digitally distributed networks?​ ​What​ ​kind​ ​of​ ​logic​ ​or intelligence​ ​is​ ​behind​ ​a​ ​screen?​ ​Who or what​ ​is​ ​watching​ ​or​ ​reading​ ​our​ ​words? The installation is an opportunity to be immersed in secrets, and inspires delight, surprise, and reflection while evoking questions about uncertain technological futures.

SXSW

The​ ​Future​ ​of​ ​Secrets​​ ​is​ ​an​ ​evolving​ ​installation​ ​that​ ​collects​ ​secrets​ ​from​ ​participants, and​ ​then​ ​shares​ ​those​ ​secrets​ ​by​ ​algorithmically​ ​determined​ ​but​ ​opaque​ ​logic.​ ​Each time​ ​it​ ​is​ ​exhibited​ ​it​ ​grows​ ​more​ ​complex. The installation at SXSW will combine previous versions of this work into a more comprehensive one that includes interactive audio, video, print, and interaction with the secrets portal itself. During the exhibition (March 9-15), remote participants can submit secrets through this website, which will then be incorporated into the live exhibition in Austin. Part of the 2018 SXSW Art Program.

Installation details:

Multiple data​ ​feeds​ ​run​ ​simultaneously:​ ​human​ ​secrets​ ​projected​ ​on​ ​a​ ​wall,​ ​appearing​ ​and disappearing,​ ​sometimes​ ​faint​ ​or​ ​fleeting,​ ​sometimes​ ​lingering​ ​in​ ​the​ ​projection​ ​for​ ​an oddly​ ​long​ ​time;​ ​another​ ​projection,​ ​running​ ​code,​ ​showing​ ​the​ ​secrets​ ​being​ ​translated into​ ​computer​ ​voices.​ ​There​ ​is​ ​a​ ​secrets​ ​input​ ​station,​ ​where​ ​viewers​ ​are​ ​invited​ ​to submit​ ​their​ ​secrets,​ ​which​ ​triggers​ ​another’s​ ​secret​ ​to​ ​print​ ​in​ ​response.​ ​There​ ​is a second small printer,​ ​algorithmically guided​ to print ​secrets​ ​for​ ​viewers​ ​to collect.​ ​There​ ​is​ ​an​ ​interactive​ ​sound​ ​installation,​ ​where​ ​viewers​ ​can​ ​hear​ ​human secrets​ ​eerily​ ​recited​ ​by​ ​computer​ ​voices,​ ​sometimes​ ​overlapping​ ​up​ ​to​ ​five​ ​voices​ ​at​ ​a time. Sound programming by Halsey Bergund. LED lightning design by Jie Qi, Chibitronics.

Location:

Fairmont Hotel, Verbena Room

Dates:

Friday March 9th - Thursday March 15th,
9am - 6:30pm

Exhibitions

Artists & Contact

Sarah Newman is a Creative Researcher at metaLAB at Harvard, and a Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. Working primarily in the area of installation art, she develops projects that deal with technology’s role in culture, examining the significance of the current moment both playfully and critically. Newman holds a BA in Philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis and an MFA in Imaging Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology; she has exhibited work in New York, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, Berlin, and Rome, and has held artist residencies in Germany and Sweden. Her current work explores the social and philosophical dimensions of artificial intelligence, the curious intersections of the human and the nonhuman, and using art as a means of engagement, education, and critique.

sarahwnewman.com

Jessica Yurkofsky is a designer with roots in ethnography, computer science, and place-making, and is a Creative Technologist at metaLAB at Harvard. Yurkofsky holds a BA in Sociology from Stanford University and a Masters in Urban Planning from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. Her graduate work focused on seniors’ use of social media as a means of accessing dispersed social spaces and community. Yurkofsky’s interests include creative hacks, building things, and design interventions in community spaces, particularly libraries. She has been part of the teaching team of LABRARY and Library Test Kitchen; she is also a project lead on Curricle, a new course selection and visualization tool that maps the evolution of Harvard’s curriculum.

jessyurko.com

Rachel Kalmar is a data scientist, Berkman Klein Fellow, and world record holder for number of wearable sensors worn continuously. Wrangling noisy data, she investigates how to make wearable and sensor data useful and interactive. A Stanford neuroscience PhD, Rachel has spent over a decade using data to explain, predict and influence behavior. Rachel focuses on the application of data and the broader ecosystems within which it exists. What are barriers to data access, sharing and interoperability, and how can we enable more open data ecosystems to better serve the public interest? Rachel is an alumna of Stanford's Neurosciences Program, the Hasso Plattner Institute for Design (aka the d.school), UCSD Physics, The Salk Institute, Singularity University, Rock Health, and Misfit Wearables.

cyber.harvard.edu/people/rkalmar