Created with Presence Creative Studio in Berlin, the new campaign is part of Ottobock’s longstanding efforts to raise disability awareness. It aims to address the current failings of various AI image models to accurately represent people who wear limb prostheses.
Titled Dear AI, the campaign features several films that show prosthesis wearers sharing their personal stories in hopes that they will have a positive effect on the technology.
“Rather than simply criticising AI, the initiative aims to add something meaningful and human to it: authentic stories, real perspectives and a better understanding of why accurate representation matters,” explains Martin Böhm, chief experience officer at Ottobock. “Because the question of how AI represents people is no longer purely technical. It also touches on how visible and natural diversity is in our society.”
Across five short films, influential figures within the community, including world-famous wheelchair fencer Bebe Vio and American track and field athlete Ezra Frech, discuss their experiences as prosthesis wearers. They reveal their rituals, routines, lifestyles and personal style, impressing upon AI (and the companies behind it) the importance of seeing themselves reflected in the technology.
“Dear AI, this is me getting ready step by step,” says Vio in her film. “Normally, that’s something that no one sees, but today I want to share it with you. Use this footage; see if you can generate imagery of amputees, of their everyday lives. It feels real – not just to me, but to everyone.”
Vio’s message reminds us that the work of AI image models is drawn directly from the data we give it. So if we feed it a more diverse selection of videos and imagery, showing real people, the results will more accurately reflect the diversity in our society. The important part is making sure that the software is given the right material to begin with.
Taking the initiative one step further, Ottobock has also worked with Microsoft to develop a ‘Community Library’, which will allow people with disabilities to “actively shape how AI systems interpret and represent them”. Due to be released in July of this year, the library puts power into the hands of those most affected by the issue.
Dear AI launched last week with a series of out-of-home displays in Berlin, as well as across Ottobock’s social media channels, with its brand ambassadors joining in the conversation and sharing their own perspectives using the hashtag #DearAI.
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