Imagine, the smart health mirror in the bathroom of your future home is able to diagnose you, help you heal and even prevent illness. It uses AI and is connected to all other smart products in your home. The mirror replaces your GP, since you can do a quick check-up every morning. This health mirror is part of an installation you come across at an exhibition showing and debating the future of AI.

We?re being surrounded by technology. It?s become a crucial part of our lives and will continue to do so. In the near future, AI will be everywhere, including in our homes.

To most people, AI is a black box. How does AI even work? Even if people have a bit more knowledge, most don?t question the validity of the data, who made it, who benefits from it, what it predicts, and the list goes on. The actions and decisions of AI are a direct reflection of humans. We wrongly assume AI to be objective, its choices are based on human input and often biased.

The more powerful AI becomes in our lives, the more important it is for people to know about these hidden (power) dynamics. We want people to make up their own minds and be more engaged with the usage of AI, rather than thoughtlessly accepting this upcoming technology as is. This will empower people to be a part of the conversation and decisions around AI.

A closer look

This smart health system is an example used to let people experience some of these hidden dynamics. Two people will interact with the prototype at this exhibition, experiencing the potential future of health care in their smart homes. Visitors have some control over how the mirror examines them, by changing the four sliders. Consequently, they will experience how these factors influence their diagnosis, experience and treatment.

Setting these sliders invites people to think about the values they represent. How important is reliability versus privacy, diversity, effort and tone of voice? For the person interacting with the mirror, it is still unclear what is behind the scenes. How does the AI access their data, assess their health, take into account their privacy? A second visitor can follow along on the backside of the mirror, offering a peek into the black box to see what is actually happening. After the daily check-up is done, the mirror rotates, allowing the visitors to change roles. They can experience each other?s settings, again demonstrating that these values are different for everyone and need to be discussed.

Visitors experience ?setting up? the mirror on the front and go through the daily check-up. The possible interactions, based on the setting of the sliders, consist of a visual interface, sound feedback, gesture control, AR overlays, scanning bodily data (scanning their hand) and getting treatment (prescription or pills being dispensed).

On the back side of the mirror, visitors see the impact of the changed sliders with visual feedback. They see animations visualising what might actually be happening inside the black box.

Additional Files:

Poster at exhibition:

Back animations Stress/eye-bags scenario (high sensor, low inclusiveness):

Back animations Rash scenario (everything low):

Back animations nothing detected scenario (high sensor, high inclusiveness):