Press the button for an apology.

A black 3D-printed box labeled 'AI Apology Box' with a receipt printer on top and a red button

Four printed apology receipts laid out on a wooden table, each with a different illustration and apology from the AI

A printed receipt titled 'An Apology no. 9' in which the AI apologizes for its apology being generated

A video in action:


This project is a reworked version of this older project, to better align it with the spirit of the times.

Reflection

I can’t decide how I feel about this apology box project; my initial thought was that it felt funny in a wry or maybe ironic sort of way. Of course, there’s an obvious emptiness to the AI “apologizing” for the various harms that people think it’s wrought; and yet it can do it so fluently. I think the risk and challenge of the project is about getting the tone right; there’s a risk of the project seeming to diminish or make light of these various grievances that people have with AI, and that is not my goal. Maybe it would be better to make the tone more deeply earnest, and less exaggerated. In the choice of grievances to emphasize, there’s also a risk of reinforcing various contestable (or at least uncertain) future imaginings – e.g. that AI will lead to significant job loss. I’m not sure how much of an issue this is for the project since at least some people do feel real fear and/or anxiety about these possible futures, whether they are likely or not. Another direction I thought could be fun would be to give more control to the viewer about the nature and/or intensity of the apology; twist this dial up to really ratchet up the profuseness of the apology. I’m not sure.