What if Alexa could channel the dead?
Alexa, Call Mom! is a story about home and the way we navigate the use of technology in our most intimate spaces.
Blending elements of fiction and non-fiction, comedy and horror, Alexa, Call Mom! is an IoT interactive experience where Alexa contacts the dead through the timeless tradition of Séance.
Type of Project:
IoT Storytelling + Horror + Comedy
My Roles: Co-Creator, Narrative Designer, Producer
The team: Nitzan Bartov - co-creator & producer and Nouf Aljowaysir - lead creative technologist
The Story
This Mother’s Day, but reconnecting with “Mom” takes a dark turn.
In this satirical experience, grieving Prime members turn to Beyond, an Alexa skill that promises seamless connections to the afterlife. After setting up their account and verifying their identity, users eagerly ask Alexa to channel Mom—only to encounter glitches, ads, and unsettling interruptions.
What begins as a moment of solace spirals into a chilling revelation: Beyond isn’t about closure—it’s about exploiting grief for profit. “Mom” isn’t your mother, but a BETA version of Alexa, with a keen maternal instinct.
The Space
This is a solo-conversational experience. The room is silent and dark. A single spotlight lights the room. As the participants walks into the room, they are guided by Alexa to sit closer to her. They will remain seated for the entire experience.
Dynamic ambience and sound FX create the effect of ghostly dynamic movement.
The user goes through a spiritual journey by entering an emotionally haunted house…
The Technology
Platforms used include Amazon Echo (the “Alexa” smart home assistant), internet-connected home outlets, Philips Hue light bulbs, and a three speaker multi-channel system. Our custom Alexa skill, combines real user data, Amazon ads, and Alexa’s affordances as a smart home device to create a dynamic spectral language. In addition to Alexa, we are also using a multi-channel speakers system that give the effect of sound moving around the room.
Premiere @ CannesXR
The Tribeca Film Festival, postponed by the pandemic, partnered this year with The Marché du Film, Kaleidoscope, and The Museum of Other Realities in order to reshape a groundbreaking event online and in virtual reality; Cannes XR Virtual.
Alexa, Call Mom! was adapted into a virtual reality teaser.
Adapting Your Work For An At-Home Audience
Learn more about the way we chose to adapt Alexa, Call Mom! for an at-home audience
An essay about Seances, Alexa, and how a few years after Alexa, Call Mom! Amazon developed a way for Alexa to mimic the voices of the dead.
Our sponsors
In 2018, Alexa, Call Mom! was workshopped at the Sundance New Frontier Story Lab Residency. In 2019, the project was in residence with POV Spark Labs (PBS). A demo of ACM was shown at the 2019 IDFA DocLab in Amsterdam. In 2020, Alexa, Call Mom! premiered virtually at the Tribeca x Cannes XR Museum of Other Realities.