rep.licants.org is:

a web service allowing users to install an artificial intelligence (bot) on their Facebook and/or Twitter account. From a different set of techniques, the bot attempts to simulate the activity of the user, to improve it by feeding his account and to create new contacts with other users.

The bot does not born [sic] with a fictitious identity, but will be added to the real identity of the user to modify it at his convenience. Thus, this bot can be seen as a virtual prothesis added to an user’s account, with the aim to build him a greater social reputation. Moreover, this bot can be perceived as a threat by defrauding even more the reality of who is really who on the cyberspace and by showing the poverty of our social interactions on these so-called social networks.

Above is an example conversation created by an instance of the bot (see more here). For similar work on artificial lifeforms / bots (albeit visualised very differently) see EKKAH.

rep.licants.org is currently showing at the Robots and Avatars exhibition at Fact in Liverpool until 27/05/12.

•