Smile, Please
A Participatory Installation Responding to the Societal Coercion of Emotions and the Prevalence of Emotion AIOverview
What would a future increasingly driven by AI look like?
Smile, Please is an interactive installation created in response to societal coercion of emotions and the prevalence of emotion AI.
The installation features a smile evaluation and training machine that trains users to become a citizen of “the preferred society”, where they are guaranteed better future prospects. The only entry requirement is that they smile well enough. The Smile, Please system uses a Polaroid camera to tell users if their smile is “good” enough while also using a TENS unit to shock the person if their smile was not “good” enough. After each user experience, participants are given a copy of The Manual of Smile Etiquette, a guidebook with exercises to improve on their smiles.
Through an extreme approach, dark humor, and by creating visceral discomfort, with mechanism referencing to Pavlov‘s classical conditioning and the Milgram experiment, we hoped to shock our audience into thinking about the implications and ownership of our emotions in the current societal and technological landscape.
Public Showcase
Performed at IMPAKT 2019: Speculative Interfaces and exhibited at the International Symposium for Electronic Arts (ISEA) 2019.
What would a future increasingly driven by AI look like?
Smile, Please is an interactive installation created in response to societal coercion of emotions and the prevalence of emotion AI.
The installation features a smile evaluation and training machine that trains users to become a citizen of “the preferred society”, where they are guaranteed better future prospects. The only entry requirement is that they smile well enough. The Smile, Please system uses a Polaroid camera to tell users if their smile is “good” enough while also using a TENS unit to shock the person if their smile was not “good” enough. After each user experience, participants are given a copy of The Manual of Smile Etiquette, a guidebook with exercises to improve on their smiles.
Through an extreme approach, dark humor, and by creating visceral discomfort, with mechanism referencing to Pavlov‘s classical conditioning and the Milgram experiment, we hoped to shock our audience into thinking about the implications and ownership of our emotions in the current societal and technological landscape.
Public Showcase
Performed at IMPAKT 2019: Speculative Interfaces and exhibited at the International Symposium for Electronic Arts (ISEA) 2019.
Roles
Concept, Interaction & Visual Design, Physical Computing, Installation Design, Fabrication
Collaborator
Conceptualized with Chenshan Gao
Tools
Arduino, Indesign, Illustrator
Concept, Interaction & Visual Design, Physical Computing, Installation Design, Fabrication
Collaborator
Conceptualized with Chenshan Gao
Tools
Arduino, Indesign, Illustrator
Visual Design: The Manual of Smile Etiquette
The content and language of the manual referenced The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness: A Complete Hand Book for the Use of the Lady in Polite Society published in 1860 and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. A serif font was specifically chosen to reflect these references.
Technology & Process: Iterations, Playtests
The first iteration uses a thermal printer, which is replaced by a modified Polaroid camera in the second iteration.
Safety
We conducted numerous playtests on ourselves before trying it on other volunteers and putting it in public. Early playtests showed us the necessity of creating a strong narrative to translate our message to the audience effectively and to situate them into our fictional world. To do that, we created a dystopian narrative using graphic design, film languages and theatrical devices.
The first iteration uses a thermal printer, which is replaced by a modified Polaroid camera in the second iteration.
- TENS unit
- MyoWare Muscle Sensor & Electrode pads
- Polaroid camera
- LCD Display
- Arduino
Safety
We conducted numerous playtests on ourselves before trying it on other volunteers and putting it in public. Early playtests showed us the necessity of creating a strong narrative to translate our message to the audience effectively and to situate them into our fictional world. To do that, we created a dystopian narrative using graphic design, film languages and theatrical devices.
Interaction
When a viewer approaches our booth, we asked them if they want to learn more about our smile evaluation and training system. We inform them if they failed the smile test, the system will generate a light electric shock to their face to remind them to smile better.
![A user flow detailing the interaction of Smile, Please]()
If the viewer is open to the idea, we asked them to sign a waiver. If all is good, we proceed to attach the electrodes and sensors. Then, we asked users to press the push button whenever they are ready and hit the emergency button whenever they feel uncomfortable.
When a viewer approaches our booth, we asked them if they want to learn more about our smile evaluation and training system. We inform them if they failed the smile test, the system will generate a light electric shock to their face to remind them to smile better.
If the viewer is open to the idea, we asked them to sign a waiver. If all is good, we proceed to attach the electrodes and sensors. Then, we asked users to press the push button whenever they are ready and hit the emergency button whenever they feel uncomfortable.
Credits
This project would not be possible without the generous help from David Rios, Nick Hubbard, Kathleen McDermott, Aidan Nelson, Sejo Vega-Cebrian, and Koji Kanao.
This project would not be possible without the generous help from David Rios, Nick Hubbard, Kathleen McDermott, Aidan Nelson, Sejo Vega-Cebrian, and Koji Kanao.