Dweller is an online chatbot designed to generate microaggressions towards the viewer, with a particular focus on highlighting their foreignness to the virtual space the chatbot occupies.
This work is satirical in nature and uses humour to draw attention to the larger societal impact of reducing often marginalized or oppressed people into stereotypes. By showcasing the insidious nature of microaggressions and their impact on people, we hope to start a conversation about the ways in which we can create a more inclusive and empathetic society.
We invite you to interact with Dweller and experience the discomfort that arises from being on the receiving end of microaggressions. Through this experience, we hope to foster empathy and understanding for those who are often subjected to such experiences in their daily lives.
You can interact with our bot on our collective's website at knowscode.ca
Screen capture of Dweller's virtual environment
The aim of this project is to explore the concept of otherness by focusing on microaggressions, which are pervasive and often overlooked forms of discrimination. By exposing viewers to these subtle forms of prejudice, the collective hopes to foster empathy and create a sense of shared pain as a form of resistance. The goal is to help viewers recognize the harm caused by well-intentioned comments that reinforce stereotypes and marginalize those who are different.
Thank you for visiting Welcome_Alien, and we hope you enjoy your experience with Dweller.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
We acknowledge the support from the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to The Roundtable Residency for their invaluable support and feedback during the development of our project. Their commitment to fostering creative and innovative projects has been an immense source of inspiration and motivation for our collective.
