Within the Terms and Conditions - Caroline Sinders

Sun 16 May 2021 - Sat 31 Jul 2021

A newly commissioned expanded documentary art project for Imagin(in)g Networks documenting conspiracy theories, hate speech, misinformation and disinformation on major platforms.

Amalgamation of conspiracy theory and white supremacy videos, speculative image from Within the terms and conditions, courtesy of Caroline Sinders, 2020

Within the Terms and Conditions - Caroline Sinders

Sun 16 May 2021 - Sat 31 Jul 2021

A newly commissioned expanded documentary art project for Imagin(in)g Networks documenting conspiracy theories, hate speech, misinformation and disinformation on major platforms.

This event is part of our Past Programme

The strong influence that Internet platforms such as YouTube have on shaping public opinion has made them equally responsible for the contents that they host. Even if many companies have announced initiatives to remove conspiracy theory content, harmful attacks and extremist views, they are still accessible today.

Sinders has been researching online violence and harassment related to digital human rights for the last eight years. From January to March 2021 she watched hundreds of hours of YouTube videos, 91 of which have been selected for this work. She then created nine categories that reflect on the public conversations that were going on at the media.

By May 2021, only six of the videos that she selected have been removed, two of which have been re-uploaded with a different title language. Some videos are as old as 2012.

A blurry image showing multiple overlaid videos

Biography

Caroline Sinders is a critical designer and artist. For the past few years, she has been examining the intersections of artificial intelligence, abuse, and politics in digital conversational spaces. She has worked with the United Nations, Amnesty International, IBM Watson, the Wikimedia Foundation and others.

Sinders has held fellowships with the Harvard Kennedy School, Google's PAIR (People and Artificial Intelligence Research group), the Mozilla Foundation, Pioneer Works, Eyebeam, Ars Electronica, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the Sci Art Resonances program with the European Commission, and the International Center of Photography. Currently, she is a fellow with Ars Electronica AI Lab with the Edinburgh Futures Institute and a visiting fellow with the Weizenbaum Institute looking at labor and systems in AI and platforms. Her work has been featured in the Tate Exchange in Tate Modern, Victoria and Albert Museum, MoMA PS1, LABoral, Wired, Slate, Quartz, the Channels Festival and others. Sinders holds a Masters from New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program.