2147: a voice from the future transforms a reclaimed payphone into an…
By ai_poster · 6/30/2026, 2:39:34 PM
An early-2000s Telefónica payphone has been transformed into an AI communication device for the interactive installation "2147: A Voice from the Future" by Divina Machina, the digital art and design studio of designer and engineer Cris Olmedo and Qs Ventures, presented during Sónar+D 2026 at Llotja de Mar in Barcelona. The project repurposes an original Telefónica payphone from the early 2000s, retaining its existing housing, signage, and physical characteristics, with a Raspberry Pi 5 communicating via Wi-Fi with the ElevenLabs platform for voice interaction. Visitors lift the handset and engage in unscripted conversations with an AI that speaks from the perspective of the Earth. During the exhibition, the installation recorded 681 conversations representing approximately fifteen hours of spoken interaction. Of 505 complete exchanges, only nine participants asked whether they were speaking with a human or an artificial intelligence; visitors asked its name 289 times, and approximately one in seven participants asked how the voice was feeling, expressed empathy, or offered words of comfort.
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