SOMEONE


SOMEONE imagines a human version of Amazon Alexa, a smart home intelligence for people in their own homes. For a two month period in 2019, four participants’ homes around the United States were installed with custom-designed smart devices, including cameras, microphones, lights, and other appliances. 205 Hudson Gallery in NYC housed a command center where visitors could peek into the four homes via laptops, watch over them, and remotely control their networked devices. Visitors would hear smart home occupants call out for “Someone”—prompting the visitors to step in as their home automation assistant and respond to their needs. This video installation presents documentation from the initial performance on four screens throughout the space.



closeup of one of the white laptops with it's lamp on, headphones next to it, and a "hello someone" all caps with an arrow next to the text pointing to the right on the screen.

screenshot of the hello someone interface, showing the title on the left side of the screen with subtext saing" please assist by sharing your intelligence" and bellow there are seven types of switches, two are on and the rest are off, below there are six light categories, one of which is on and is red. next to the interface there is footage taking up most of the screen, showing a person in the kitchen with a pink blouse viewing the camera, while there are two smaller footage on the top right showing the rest of their space.screenshot of the hello someone interface, showing the title on the left side of the screen with subtext saing" please assist by sharing your intelligence" and below there are eight types of switches, two are on and the rest are off, below there are seven light categories, five of which are on, three are white, one is blue and the las tone is green. next to the interface there is footage taking up most of the screen, showing two people talking in the kitchen, while there are three smaller footage on the top right showing the rest of their space.







Press
The Guardian, Hyperallergic, Engadget

Credits
Software and hardware development by Harvey Moon and Josh Billions. Interface development by Lauren Lee McCarthy. Furniture design in collaboration with and fabrication by Lela Barclay de Tolly. Smart home participant collaborators include Valeria Haedo, Adelle Lin, Amanda McDonald Crowley, and Ksenya Samarskaya. SOMEONE was created with support from a Google Focused Research Award and the Harvestworks New Works Residency. It was first exhibited at 205 Hudson Gallery as part of Refiguring the Future. Screenshots by Lauren Lee McCarthy, installation photos by Stan Narten and Otto Saxinger.