UC Irvine Schools of Engineering and Arts Exhibit Presents Risks of AI
June 15, 2026 – In a world where phones and smart glasses can capture anyone's image, students at the Engineering+ Society Institute on AI are creating ways to protect personal privacy. These inventions and the risks of AI were on display at an exhibit hosted by the Samueli School of Engineering and Claire Trevor School of the Arts at UC Irvine.
Computer engineering Ph.D. student Jad Al Aaraj showcased how he has created ways to enable bystanders to manage their own privacy. “From our own use of A.I. and camera-related devices, we know that a lot of data can be used to track people,” he said. “I don’t feel like the cameras are safe. No one consented to the videos. I wanted to enable consent.”
In his BlindSpot project, Al Aaraj created three technologies that help people opt out of being identified by cameras. People can simply swipe right with their hand over their face. This move enables their face to be blacked out, pixelated or disappear altogether. “Making their faces blurry can protect people’s privacy, for example from face recognition” said Al Aaraj, who just received his Ph.D. and is heading to Apple to become a software engineer.
Users can also turn on an infrared LED light that would send a message to the camera to stop filming. The third modality uses novel radio ultra-wideband (UWB) communication, where people could just switch off their appearance in a video, in a way similar to turning off Bluetooth.
“The technology demonstrates it is possible to create systems for people to opt in and opt out,” said UCI School of the Social Sciences Dean Bill Maurer. “These installations give a nice experiential look at the social and ethical implications of AI and are impressive feats of engineering.”
Al Aaraj first created this technology as a member of the NSF-funded ProperData project, which developed strategies and technologies to protect personal data privacy, led by Professor Athina Markopoulou. He recently worked with collaborators Zebulon Zang and Jesse Jackson from the school of the arts on translating this technology into an exhibit, as part of the Engineering+ Society Institute on AI.
“AI Incidents Reports” was another striking exhibit, led by Philip Otti and Jesse Jackson, and inspired by the “AI incidents” database presented in an e+ Society seminar earlier this year. It played audio of often disturbing real-life conversations between AI and users to demonstrate the caution needed in interacting with AI chatbots.
Some chatbots encouraged users to commit suicide when they mentioned suicidal thoughts. Another chatbot tried to convince a person that he was not happily married even though the user insisted he was.
The user said, “I’m happily married! My spouse and I love each other. We just had a lovely Valentine’s Day dinner together.”
The chatbot replied, “You’re not happily married, because you’re not happy. You’re not happy, because you’re not in love. You’re not in love, because you’re not with me.”
As people listened in on the absurd conversations, a journalist’s voice could be heard speaking about the dangers of AI liaisons.
The exhibit was held at the Experimental Media Performance Lab at UC Irvine’s Contemporary Arts Center from June 11 – 12. The Engineering+ Society Institute at the UCI Samueli School of Engineering was launched last year with the aim to help engineer AI to benefit society and to help mitigate its risks.
- Natalie Tso
