Simone Niquille /Technoflesh
Elephant Juice (2020)
8:45 min

“Elephant Juice” refers to lip-reading software’s common misinterpretation of “I love you”. In this way, Simone C Niquille shows the shortcomings of machine learning when it tries to understand human emotion – an exercise as futile as assuming we can know “what it is like to be a bat”.

The main character in Elephant Juice is preparing for a fully automated job interview in front of the mirror. Via a webcam, the machine “interviewer” will interpret every little movement of her facial muscles to assess her suitability for the job. The prospective candidate has to train her face in order to convince the machine – on its terms.

 Simone C Niquille (b. 1987) is a Swiss artist, based in Amsterdam. She is the founder of the design and research project Technoflesh. Elephant Juice was commissioned for HeK Basel and MU Eindhoven, as part of the exhibition Real Feelings.

This artwork is part of the online exhibition CADS #2: The Game of Life (15 April - 11 May 2021)