Algorithms

By Jenna Marvet

Artist’s Statement

When people talk about algorithms, there is typically an assumption that it acts as a neutral third party. The power of the algorithm in this understanding is that it carries no bias, and therefore can be incredibly efficient and fair where humans are less so. However, this is false. Algorithms are Frankenstein’s monster: a conglomeration of influences from those who have worked on the program. The biases and perspectives of the programmers, as well as that of the data it takes in to learn, lie within programs themselves. Like Frankenstein’s monster, algorithms are both human and not human.

I chose to represent this technological metaphor with a multimedia collage. For the first layer, I cut out and arranged references to technology in newspapers, magazines and advertisements. For the second layer, I created four identical figures out of paper in yellow, red, blue and green, and layered those pieces with body parts from publications. The medium itself is a conglomeration of parts from seemingly unconnected areas, pasted together to create a singular piece, like Frankenstein’s monster. The colored paper figures represent the technological, with the body parts connecting to represent the human influence. Further, the use of pieces of text and imagery from cultural publications shows the algorithm as an arbiter of culture. The shows we watch, music we listen to, articles we read and advertisments we see are pushed to us because of the illusive algorithm. With so much influence in our lives, it is important we understand the algorithm as something human-created and human-influenced.