Mood of the Planet: Challenging Visions of Big Data in the Arts

Abstract

Mood of the Planet is an interactive physical-digital sculpture that has as its center-piece a large “arch” or “doorway” that emits colored light and sound as a form of visualization and sonification of the changing, live emotions expressed by people all around the Earth. It is the product of several disciplines, including the arts, computer science, linguistics and psychology. In particular, we use artificial intelligence to collect and analyze social media data and extract emotions from these using a brain-inspired and psychologically motivated emotion categorization model. Such emotions are then translated into colors and sounds that the audience can experience while passing through the arch. Feedback from the audience proved the Mood of the Planet to provide a more accurate, personal and tangible experience about the data-emotions dichotomy.