TECHNOLOGY has become so integrated into our daily lives that it’s hard to imagine where we’d be without it. But do we actually need the tech improvements that fill our days?
When we use technology designed to make our lives easier, like facial recognition software or voice-to-text technology, that ease comes at a cost: we’re freely giving our information, and by proxy our freedom, to corporations that manipulate our dependence on technology for capitalistic gain.
Neil Mendoza’s “Robotic Activated Word Kicking Machine” shows the process of that technology: speak into the machine and your words appear on screen. But only some of the words appear, highlighting the
He is also the creator of the “Anti-Vanity Mirror,” a mirror that runs away from the viewer looking into it.
Mendoza’s work fits perfectly with this year’s PULSE exhibition, “Machines of Futility: Unproductive Technologies.” Opening on Thursday, the exhibition features two of Mendoza’s works, both of which comment on technology today.
We spoke with Neil last week: