Project Concept:
Please Verify Yourself is an interactive web experience about being seen by technology but never fully recognized as human. The project is inspired by CAPTCHA systems, which usually ask users to prove they are not robots. In this work, that logic is flipped. The system tries to prove that the user is human, but it never fully succeeds.
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After scanning a QR code, the user opens the experience on their phone. They check a box to confirm they are not a robot, solve a math problem, and then interact with a camera-based grid. As they continue, the feedback becomes more aggressive and the interface begins to break down. The screen slowly corrupts and fades to black. In the end, the system displays the message “verification failed” and asks the user to restart.
Photos & Videos:
Why:
We interact with systems that judge us all the time, such as facial recognition, CAPTCHA tests, and automated decision making tools. Most of the time, we do not question how these systems define what it means to be human. This project explores what it feels like to be evaluated by technology and still be rejected.
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By reversing the CAPTCHA structure, the project highlights the power imbalance between users and machines. Even when users follow instructions correctly, the system continues to doubt them. The increasingly harsh feedback reflects how automated systems can feel cold, unfair, or even humiliating. The work asks viewers to think about how much authority we give to technology and what it means to consent to being judged by it.
How:
The project is built as a mobile website using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Users access it by scanning a QR code with their phone. The experience moves through different stages of verification, including a checkbox, a math question, and a camera-based grid that shifts as the user interacts with it.
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Timed pop-ups control the feedback and slowly change the tone from neutral to aggressive. Visual effects such as distortion and noise are triggered as the system continues to fail the user. Using the participant’s own phone makes the experience feel familiar and personal, which strengthens the concept of everyday technological judgment.