I got an incredible opportunity to be part of Watershed's Make Shift Camp Residency 2024, hosted at the Pervasive Media Studio.
Over five days, I collaborated with seven other creative practitioners, exploring the concept of Artificial Ineptitude.
Our cohort developed three unique prototypes that celebrated the whimsical side of AI's imperfections and shortcomings. I along with Julia Ronneberger and Heidi Gautrey were involved in 'Zesty AI’s Lemonade Stand', an interactive installation designed to test AI’s decision-making process in a humorous, engaging way.
The project asked participants to create or choose a “lemon” (real or made-up) and submit it for evaluation. The AI-powered "Zesty" would judge which lemon was least suitable for making lemonade, often with confusing and unexpected results. The lemons that survived the longest were ultimately made into actual lemonade, highlighting AI’s unpredictability and raising critical questions about the trust we place in machines.
This project aimed to provoke thought about the reliability of AI in decision-making, particularly in mundane but crucial tasks. It was a playful exploration of inefficiency, asking: Can we trust AI to make decisions for us?