A.L. Grime
Mural Location: 2546 Spruce St Boulder, CO 80302 (Boulder Furniture Arts)
Inspired by women data and computer scientists and CEOs fighting for equitable artificial intelligence, Ally Grimm, aka A.L. Grime, created a mural for Street Wise 2022 that asks “Can Girls Do Artificial Intelligence?”
Her black-and-white mural centers around a search engine investigating “women in AI.” The algorithm suggests searches such as “Where are the women in AI?” and “Can girls do artificial intelligence?” which mimics Ally’s real-life experience with a search engine while researching for another project. The artist startlingly discovered that only 12% of research and leadership roles in AI are filled by women. However, these numbers are declining as women lose their positions after questioning ethics around AI and data collection practices. Ironically enough, the algorithm itself prompted the question if women even belong in the field.
A woman’s pixelated, solemn face and other optical art-inspired images surround the search engine window while a hand points toward it, drawing the viewer’s attention to the questions posed by the algorithm. In this mural and many other artworks, Ally incorporates elements of op art, including abstraction, black and white color schemes, and optical illusions that give the impression of movement, vibrating, swelling, or warping patterns, and hidden images.
The artist designs her murals and other artworks digitally on her iPad. In fact, while designing this mural, her software malfunctioned and she ended up incorporating some glitched designs into the final mural, namely the arrow that snakes toward the right side of the wall.
Ally seeks to draw attention to the impact that algorithms and AI have on the human experience in the contemporary world. Algorithms control products in your local grocery store, ads found on social media, and what kind of information is funneled to you online. AI has a growing influence on transportation, healthcare, education, and media. It is vital that AI engineers reflect the diversity of our world and that the information fed to AI is equitable.
About the Artist: