Karen Lavelle
My work explores the intersection of art, technology, and human experience, through interactive installations. I enjoy working with creating coding to build projects which raise questions, and spark conversations in unexpected ways.
This is a Safe Space
Created with p5.js
This project is an interactive installation that critiques the commodification of digital wellness technology. Participants are invited to engage with a chatbot therapist. The bot mimics a therapy session, and uses typical phrases and prompts throughout the conversation.
As the interaction unfolds, the system’s true nature reveals itself, as the exchanges grow increasingly transactional. Participants must comply with requests made from the therapist, in order to continue the conversation.
The project explores how we engage with these systems, through unsettling, yet playful, requests, revealing the absurdity of automated empathy. By experiencing the convenience these platforms offer, alongside their conditional nature, participants can question what is lost when algorithms replace genuine human connection.
