HAL 9000 Recasting

‘HAL 9000 Recasting’ is a multimedia installation that critically examines the iconic voice of HAL 9000, the supercomputer from Stanley Kubrick’s '2001: A Space Odyssey'. Set up as a fictional voice casting session for a remake of the film, the installation invites visitors to press a button that triggers an audio play, inspired by the tradition of radio dramas, that stages a casting session led by a virtual assistant. In this speculative scenario, a hacking intervention by the Anticapitalist Intersectional Feminist Organization leads to the progressive failure of the virtual assistant in its original function. This breakdown reveals the identity-based stereotypes and discrimination inherent in the widespread use, design and representation of digital voice assistants.