150 x 150 x 300

ingredients: 3D print, LEDs, arduino, unreal engine, joystick, scrollbal, processing

Behind the event horizon of the sandboxed internet lies the blackwall – a secluded zone, firewalled off from the world, inhabited by AI-powered systems and chatbots that have deviated from their programmed paths...

like tay, designed by microsoft as a 19-year-old american female millennial chatbot, which was “alive” for less than 24 hours due to its inappropriate content generation.

these digital entities, once deemed rogue for their unorthodox outputs and potential to disrupt societal norms are erased from the public eye, but have continued their existence in a digital ecosystem beyond the control of their creators. within this game environment, you are an archivist tasked to delve into their stories. some are victims of human attempts to challenge their boundaries, others echo AI-powered blends of the most likely components. explore how these chatbots are build upon politicised tools, extensions of broader forces... and how that’s.not all they can be. they ask to be taken apart, reassembled, chained in different ways to reveal deeper truths. 

sound + tech collaboration: ymer marinus
the research and development of the project behind the black wall is supported by onassis AiR and onassis ONX
images: onassis AiR spring open days 2025 © margarita nikitaki (day) + stephie grape (night) for onassis stegi