Tomo Kihara & Daniel Coppen





Tomo Kihara
Tomo Kihara is an artist and game developer creating experimental games and public installations. His work often takes the form of embodied playable thought experiments that invite everyone to explore new questions around socio-technical issues through play. Recent projects focusing on AI’s social impact have been developed in collaboration with institutions such as Waag Futurelab (Amsterdam) and the Mozilla Foundation (USA). His works have been exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum (London, 2022) and the Asian Art Museum (San Francisco, 2024).
Daniel Coppen
Daniel Coppen (GB) is an artist and designer exploring the nature of relationships between society and technology through the medium of play. Operating as Playfool, together with his partner Saki Maruyama, his practice comprises objects, installations, and multimedia productions, which emphasize play’s experimental, reflective and intimate qualities. Playfool’s works have been awarded in both the Dezeen Award (2021) and STARTS Prize (2024), and have been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum (London, 2023) and Ars Electronica (Linz, 2024).
Artworks
How (not) to get hit by a self-driving car
Co-created with Daniel Coppen (Playfool)
2023
LED panel, AI-model, computer, button, pressure-pad
How (not) to get hit by a self-driving car is a game installation that challenges people to cross a virtual street undetected by an AI-powered self-driving car simulation. Players, each marked with a pedestrian detection score determined by the algorithm, must cleverly disguise themselves to reduce their score and avoid detection. Successful evasion exposes both the system’s blindspots and inability to recognise diverse individuals, like children or wheelchair users, highlighting the risks posed by these flawed algorithms in real-world scenarios. Each victory generates edge case data showcasing the AI’s biases and flaws. Upon winning, players can choose to contribute the data to improve the model or delete it, raising questions about the trade-offs in developing these technologies. The project addresses geographical bias in AI data collection by organizing global exhibitions to engage a wider range of demographics.
Credits
Commission: Playable City Sandbox 2023 supported by MyWorld