A(nt)I Chess is a speculative design project about the implications of data collection, tracking and the use of algorithms in policy. The given brief was to design a set of chess pieces for aluminium extrusion, for a self chosen context.

Four week individual project, Spring 2018
Industrial Design and Production Processes
Oslo School of Architecture and Design

Render of chess set with computer vision overlay
Disguised as finger food

The chess set is based on a speculative future, where technoauthoritarian policy forces its citizens to camouflage their daily activities

Photo of laser cut and painted physical models

The purpose of the product is to act as a facilitator for discussion about technology and policy among the general public. The chess set takes abstract ideas about data mining and surveillance into a tangible form, letting the user literally touch a potential future.

Sketch of chess piece unreadable by computer vision, people playing chess and possible chess piece designs
A chess set to fool computer vision

It was central to the project that the chess pieces could still be recognized and played by humans. I discussed several methods for achieving this with computer science students from the universities of Oslo and Bergen

Overview photo of planters in community garden
Aesthetic process

By (a) starting with general silhouettes, and (b) finding suitable disguises, I (c) applied patterns based on the reasearch by the EvolvingAI Lab. The combination of recognizabel silhouettes and abstract patterns is how I intended to pique users’ interest.

Photo of user inspecting chess pieces

Recently, there has been an increasing amount of concern in mainstream media regarding data tracking, AI and human rights. As games like chess and go have a long history of use in computer science, I felt that exploring this topic was both interesting to myself and relevant to the brief.

News articles about privacy concerns relating to AI and algorithms
Future Scenario / A technoauthoritarian society: -State and tech firms cooperate. -Massive surveilance and data mining. -Algorithms grants rights and duties. -Black market of products against surveilance*
A future mirroring our own society

Based on the work of Dunne & Raby, I set up a speculative scenario inspired by general technological trends and visions of technology writers like Adam Greenfield.

In this speculative future, everything is measured and tracked, and used to algorithmically control the lives of it’s inhabitants. Even chess, which has a winner and a loser, is tracked to distribute rights and duties.

Visualisation of human and computer vision characteristics.
Human VS computer vision

My approach is based on the research done by the EvolvingAI Lab, visualizing the difference between human and computer vision. We recognize objects due to their silhouettes, while self taught algorithms look for internal patterns.

My strategy was to work with the silhouettes and patterns at two separate features. This would allow me to affect the computer’s recognition of the piece, but not a human’s.

Diagram of aesthetic traits of chess piece siluettes to provide a recognizable and unified base
A recognizable silhouette

I started my design process by sketching out profiles based on the generalized ideal of each piece. This would allow for the silhouettes to be easily recognized, while also providing a large surface area for the disguising patterns.

People playing chess, being read by computer vision as eating breakfast
Disguise as storytelling device

I tried different narratives through simple overlays, to test how they would affect the overall concept. A plausible cover story; people eating finger food, seemed to both underscore the absurdity and strengthen the overarching message.

Illustration explaining considerations to wall thickness, radii and tooling
Accommodating production

Through consultation from Hydro Extrusion, I made sure the pieces med aluminium production constraints.

Process render shown to Nicolas Papernot for validation

“Yes, that approach makes sense to me. I think you should be able to produce patterns that can be added to any chess piece (whatever the chess piece looks like) to have it classified as something else.”

-US based AI researcher

Expert validation

After seeing an early render of my chess pieces, a researcher studying AI and adversarial images validated that my methods were indeed based on legitimate theories.

Facade sign of Grünerløkke Chess Club Chess club member taking a photo of the chess pieces
Finding the right audience

After user testing, I discovered that the value of the chess set as a speculative object came from connecting the users to unfamiliar ideas through familiar objects. The local chess club members had a varying degree of political eng technological engagement. Some were more informed than others, and used the pieces to explain the abstract ideas and theories.

Photo of laser cut and painted physical models