Here's the Information We Collect

Here's the Information We Collect is a multi-channel interactive video installation tailored to respond to selected privacy policy on major social media platforms. The audience members are invited to engage with the work by speaking into a microphone. Their words will be processed by a pre-coded speech recognition program to match the key words to specific sonic elements performed by professional vocalists, creating a dynamic and evolving musical score in real-time. The project employs the privacy policy of a particular cyber enterprise as an entry point to explore the implications of our online data and the tension between privacy, surveillance, and the free flow of information in the digital age. It also calls attention to tech corporations' collection and capitalization of user data behind the scenes as a form of digital colonialism.

This composition employed VOSK Offline Speech Recognition API to activate vocal performances. The musical notation was presented graphically, and the vocalists' contributions were recorded individually before being integrated in real-time. Download full score

Ekmeles Vocal Ensemble - Soprano: Charlotte Mundy, Mezzo-Soprano: Elisa Sutherland Countertenor: Jonathan May, Tenor: Tomás Cruz, Baritone: Jeffrey Gavett, Bass: Peter Stewart; Max/MSP Engineer: Matthew Ostrowski, Recording Engineer: Kevin Ramsay. Documentation captured during the residency at the Institute for Electronic Arts with the support of Media & Technology Technician Bernard Dolecki.

An online single-channel iteration of the project commissioned by WebSoundArt is now accessible online through this link.