The Tourist
Video Performance runtime 8:26 2008
"Hello computer." "Hello User, How are you feeling today?" This dialogue appears in The Tourist, a cybernetic performance where I talk to an artificial intelligence named AL through an augmented reality headset. He tells me how to succeed in life. This tongue-in-cheek reference fragments the sleek future perfect promise of electronic gadgetry in ways that stir the viewer to think about the merging of ego and the computer. The work plays on the absurdity of the public’s gaze into a mobile device as I wear an enormous headset vis-à-vis Steve Mann.
In a two part story, I am assisted by AL in the early morning as he prepares me for an interview. The viewer sees the many capabilities of the augmented reality device, including weather tracking, remote printing, web search, and character analyzation.
Later in the narrative, AL and I go shopping at the mall and after browsing several products through a augmented reality display, I am confronted by mall security about the device. AL helps me out in a pinch, coaching me in how to maneuver the conversation with the Mall Cop. Thankfully, an artificial intelligence is on my side, otherwise how would I be able to navigate the challenges life throws at me?
The Tourist was meant to be an online miniseries but during recording of the third episode, the laptop used for the performance overheated so I decided to postpone the production. The work as it stands is the pilot episode of a television series that requires further funding to become a full reality.
