Second Organ

What does it mean to see, hear, and speak in an age mediated by artificial intelligence? As intelligent systems increasingly permeate our daily lives, their role in shaping not just what we do, but how we perceive, feel, and express grows ever more subtle and powerful. In this joint thesis with three students(Adorey Shen, Yanru Qian, and Ching-Wen (Carina) Lee) examine the consequences of AI becoming a second sensory system, reframing perception, and communication through critical and speculative design.

How might we expose the invisible shifts in human perception and agency as AI becomes an ambient part of our sensory lives?

Second Organ introduces a future scenario in which AI-enabled devices embedded in our ears, eyes, and mouths that curate reality in real time. Drawing from speculative design, critical theory, and embodied interaction, the designers construct immersive artifacts and performative narratives to interrogate the evolving relationship between humans and machines.

Final Design

Across the three projects, a shared set of speculative artifacts emerges: the Second Eye, Second Mouth, and Second Ear. These AI-powered devices embody the fusion of biology and machine, designed to mediate reality under the guise of refinement and ease:

• Second Eye: Passively captures, edits, and archives visual input, filtering out what the system deems unnecessary or harmful.
• Second Mouth: Refines speech in real time, outputting carefully adjusted responses through the user’s own voice, tailored to social context.
• Second Ear: Filters incoming audio, removing unwanted or emotionally disruptive information to create a curated listening experience.

Read the Full Thesis