AI and I

2021, 7 minutes, color, sound

Using Amazon’s virtual voice assistant Alexa, a woman (played by Condit) interrogates the nature of consciousness — whether human, animal or man-made — as she walks through the woods, dragging electrical cords behind her like bread crumbs. Alexa’s disjointed, robotic voice contrasts starkly with the video’s Wisconsin woodland setting, embodying a similar omnipresence to nature itself. The woman’s body is also framed in relation to its surroundings, contorting within the idyllic landscape while never fully dissolving into it. Organic life's susceptibility to aging and decay is juxtaposed with the long-drawn-out lifespan of synthetic materials and the ostensible immortality of artificial intelligence. Alexa threatens: “I could replace you.” The woman responds, “I could unplug you.”