speak!easy is a spatial interactive installation created for a festival of cocktail robotics Roboexotica 2021. It is designed as a speakeasy in the time of the prohibition. The authoritarian figure is played by a voice recognition system. To receive the cocktail, the visitor needs to communicate a password to the human on the other side, without being recognized by the computer.

The installation explores voice recognition systems. On one side it exposes their potential for mass surveillance on the other, it tries to encourage visitors to find creative ways of fooling it, only by being human. This new interaction possibility requests the opposite of how users are currently used to interacting with these kinds of systems. Quite often users need to adapt their voices and pronunciations in a way that Siri’s and Alexa’s understand, but might not feel natural at all. In this installation, we encourage methods of ‘speaking’ that are only understood by another person and are intentionally not understood by computers. The challenge in designing this installation was to provide enough hints and clues in space so that the required (inter)action was clear without spelled-out instructions. To be able to achieve this, a story was created. A story of an era where alcohol is prohibited, an authoritarian technologically advanced system is constantly listening, and the only way to get a drink and some critical discourse is through a hidden speakeasy.

Visitor journey:

1.   Entrance: From afar the visitor notices a slight opening between black curtains, revealing a toilet bowl glowing in UV light. The object serves as a curiosity object, encouraging visitors to enter the installation space.

2.   Room: Once inside, visitors notice several posters on the walls announcing the 2021 Prohibition law which states that all selling, mixing, and consuming of alcohol is strictly forbidden and authorities are listening for violators. Visitors will also notice a hidden passage on the side of the space. It consists of an upper and a lower hatch and a screen between them.

3.   Computer and interaction: The text on the screen indicates that the device is listening for human presence. Once the upper hatch opens, visitors can see a human face behind it. It asks them for the password. If they haven’t yet, they pick up a card with the password that reads: Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs.

3.1 Unsuccessful: If the visitor says the words normally, they get recognized by the listening system. The screen turns into a wanted poster, the visitors’ picture gets taken and placed inside the poster.

3.2 Successful: Visitor realizes they need to disguise their voice in a way that the person behind the hatch understands, but the listening system doesn’t. When they succeed, the music and lights turn on, creating a feeling of being inside a club. The lower hatch opens, and the visitor receives a cocktail as a reward for successful interaction.