Ai, Ai, Ai: Slopject & Squishies

The Hmm presents AI workshops for children during DDW We use algorithms, platforms and AI-driven tools every day, often without really understanding what’s happening behind the screen. The Hmm’s educational programme, ai, ai, ai, turns these invisible systems into something you can see, understand, question and play with. During Dutch Design Week, we’re launching our latest workshops—not about AI, but on AI—specially designed for children aged 8 and over, and their parents. You can experience ‘Make your own Slopject’ and ‘Squish the System’ at MU Hybrid Art House. Make your own Slopject Do you ever stop to think that everything you do online is being tracked? Every ‘like’, every scroll and every second you spend watching a video tells us something about you. All those little bits of information together are what we call data. Algorithms use that data to try and predict what you like, so you see more of that sort of content and adverts. Handy, perhaps, but is it actually always fair? In the ‘Make your own Slopject’ workshop, you’ll step into the role of an algorithm yourself. In exchange for handing over your own data, you’ll receive a token with which you can draw (or ‘buy’) another person’s data profile from the ball machine. What does this person watch? What music do they listen to? What do they search for online? Afterwards, you’ll design (or mould) a collectable figurine that you’re almost certain the person behind the data profile would want to buy. Squish the System: from facts to vibes For a long time, the rule was: if there’s a photo of it, it must have happened. We now live in an age where any photo could just as easily have been created by AI. Every day we’re inundated with photos, videos and memes, not intended to tell a story, but to make you feel someth