A new creative intervention about the effects of AI on our online lives

Over the past few years, our media landscape has become increasingly populated with AI-generated content. From chatbots to deepfakes, it is becoming even more difficult to tell what is real and authentic online versus what’s been designed to deceive us. New tools powered by artificial intelligence are being released that make it easier, faster and cheaper to generate all types of content, while regulations struggle to keep up.

In turn, the harms that have always existed online – from scams and harassment to social polarisation – are now being “supercharged” by AI. Amidst the media hype about AI, malicious actors are also using it to target individuals with scams or multiple types of harassment and influence. Though it can often be difficult to detect, AI tools are being used to fabricate news, imitate reality, and influence our opinions and behaviours.

A new creative intervention produced by Tactical Tech and DensityDesign Lab at Politecnico di Milano, in collaboration with International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), will address how AI is impacting the ways that media and information is produced, distributed and perceived. The exhibition, designed to be hosted in libraries throughout Europe, will present visitors with engaging resources that will make these issues tangible and visual. It will also provide practical tips for what to do when we are confronted with these issues in our online lives.

Starting November 2024, this brand new exhibition about AI and its impact on media and information will be traveling through 50 libraries in Europe.

About partners and the funder:

DensityDesign Lab, Design Department, Politecnico di Milano
DensityDesign is a research lab at the Design Department of Politecnico di Milano, Italy, a scientific-technological university, which trains engineers, architects and designers. DensityDesign’s research revolves around information visualisation, tackling the design challenges arising from the visual exploration and communication of social and cultural phenomena.

Tactical Tech
A Berlin-based non-profit organisation, where playful and forward-looking experiences, interventions, events and educational resources that invite people to think about how technology influences their lives and changes the world they live in are designed and co-developped.

International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA)
The global organisation for libraries of all sorts. With a mission to inspire, engage, enable and connect the global library field, it works as a platform for professionals from around the world to come together to exchange ideas and experiences and develop guidelines and standards to support the provision of excellent library services to all. It is also strongly engaged in work to build advocacy for libraries at all levels, in order to enable them to fulfill their potential to support inclusive sustainable development.

IFLA Library Networks who are part of this initiative:
Association of Greek librarians (Greece); Associazione Italiana Biblioteche (Italy); Czech National Library (Czech Republic); Estonian Librarians Association (Estonia); National and University Library in Zagreb (Croatia); Rede de Bibliotecas Escolares (Portugal); Romanian Library Association & West University of Timisoara (Romania), Slovak National Library (Slovakia); and Ukrainian Library Association (Ukraine).