The art project “The Flemish Scrollers” attracts mobile politicians …

A great picture of the Flemish government spread on Twitter. At least four of the nine ministers play on their smartphones in the Flemish Parliament during the general meeting. Above the GSM users there are also circles of a certain ratio, which gives the impression that it shows how long a particular politician passes during a meeting.

But Dries Depoorter, the driving force behind “The Flemish Scrollers” – the Twitter account that shared the photo – assures our editors that this interpretation of percentages is incorrect. “My program searches YouTube videos of the Flemish Parliament for visual smartphones using machine learning and artificial intelligence. The program then attempts to detect the face of a mobile phone politician through facial recognition. Percentages simply indicate the probability that the phone is in fact and the chance that it will be Really concerned politician.”

Risks

What does Depoorter really want to achieve with this project? “I have been a professional artist and speaker for five years now, trying to create fun digital projects. With this project, I mainly want to illustrate the dangers of current technologies. I leave the audience free to interpret them.” Whether he basically wants to decry politicians’ use of the mobile phone, or the fact that he can smash people with a few simple clicks, Depoorter leaves it up to you.

“so silly”

In any case, Deporter is stepping on the sore toes of many politicians with his project. “Very ridiculous,” Rep. Ben Seagers (Forweet) wrote on Twitter. This should fit into the populist image of All politicians are lazyAnd I will order it. “

Flemish parliamentarian Maurits Vande Rende (Open VLD) agrees: “I use my tablet/laptop constantly during discussions. Obviously not when arguing directly with someone. It’s 2021, you do better with communication tools.”