This trilogy of algorithms exploited the technical and economic vulnerabilities of three major Internet companies, Facebook, Amazon, and Google, reconfiguring the way they concentrate, misappropriate, and monetize large quantity of information and user interactions.
This trilogy utilized a common methodology through custom hacks programmed by Cirio, finding and exploiting security vulnerabilities within the Internet giants' business models. The
Hacking Monopolism Trilogy includes the three artworks,
Face to Facebook,
Amazon Noir, and
Google Will Eat Itself. These interventions aimed to unsettle their marketing and economic models, which were revealed in the appropriated material. User data from Facebook, books from Amazon, and Google’s clicks were recontextualized through the concepts of the artworks. These performances were staged with interactions between the companies targeted, media outlets, and the general public. Each of these projects was developed during a time of expansion for the Internet giants and before several scandals broke in the following decade.
The materials, techniques, and subjects used in these works were groundbreaking for Internet art. The concepts in the trilogy both challenged and embodied the economic implications of the Internet, such as invasive advertising, users data mining, and commercialization of intellectual goods. The sophisticated hacks in the technological systems of the Internet giants became a particular mode of creative practice.
The installation includes documentation of the reactions and interactions with various elements of the performances, along with legal documents received from the targeted companies. Flowcharts are displayed as central components, outlining the main processes and algorithms used to execute the concepts of the artworks.
Co-author: Alessandro Ludovico.
