Video 6 min

This work is the result of a collaboration between Vladan Joler, an artist specialized in mapping the invisible infrastructures of the Internet, and Katarzyna Szymielewicz, a lawyer, human rights and technology expert and vice-president of the NGO network European Digital Rights.

The duo set out to unveil the secrets of the world’s largest digital social network. Does Facebook manipulate and identify your feelings? Is it able to recognize your personality type, habits, interests, political views, income level? Does it use all that information to reach you with personalized ads or sponsored content? How exactly does it work?

The work sheds light on the invisible processes that take place inside Facebook. Inside this black box, non-transparent algorithms decide what kind of content will become part of our reality, what will be censored or deleted, what ideas will be spread and what news will have more visibility. They also define new forms of work and exploitation. Users are no longer customers. They only provide data, which serve as raw material for the production of digital profiles, a key product in Internet markets.

Artists: Vladan Joler and Katarzyna Szymielewicz

Artwork included in the exhibition Digital Machines: Technology, Industry, Society.

CREDITS

Vladan Joler (SHARE Lab)
Katarzyna Szymielewicz (Panoptykon Foundation)
Based on SHARE Lab research: Facebook Algorithmic Factory

Animation: Aleksandar Ilic
Voice: Zofia Kremer
Sound Production: Jarek Gawlik

Supported by: European Digital Rights and Renewable Freedom Foundation