Alexia Achilleos

2024 – ongoing

Role playing game (hardbound book, die), printed map, leaflets

Hardcover book ISBN: 978-9925-8111-0-6

Beyond (the sea and) the uncanny valleys and American smiles explores what the Majority World looks like under the colonial gaze of Silicon Valley’s AI imperialism. It is prompted by incidents where generative AI imposed Western cultural elements to depictions of non-Western societies, such as the American smile. The book, which functions as a single-player Role Playing Game (RPG), helps the player reflect on power asymmetries within the global AI ecosystem, as well as the technology’s impact on their own local community, in an accessible, non-academic way. 

Set in a world where Western AI companies have colonised new territories, you take on the role of a solitary cartographer. Your task is to navigate and document the changing landscapes of your hometown’s colonisation, caused by the imperial processes of Western generative AI. 

Particularly aimed for players who live outside of Western AI metropoles, this game explores how the Majority World is (mis)represented in the age of generative AI. Through interactions with various AI colonial systems, you wander across the land and sketch a map of your experiences — the places you see, the inhabitants you meet, and your reflections. Be wary of colonial agents serving Big Tech AI companies! Approach them with caution and scrutinise their answers.

Installation shot, Konton-ni-ai! group exhibition at Civic Creative Base Tokyo, Japan. Curated by Yukiko Shikata and Marinos Koutsomichalis. June 2024

Installation shot, Konton-ni-ai! group exhibition at Civic Creative Base Tokyo, Japan. Curated by Yukiko Shikata and Marinos Koutsomichalis. June 2024