Description

UPC (Unethical Practice Checker) is an interactive media artwork that turns everyday consumer habits into a moment of critical awareness. By scanning standard product barcodes found on food and retail items, the project transforms routine grocery shopping into a portal for supply chain transparency, instantly exposing corporate labor violations and systemic workplace exploitation directly on the user’s screen. Central to the artwork is A.I. that ingests, parses, and cross-references vast databases of corporate regulatory filings, labor union reports, and workplace violation records. The A.I. maps complex legal and labor data directly to individual product barcodes, turning abstract corporate misconduct into immediate, actionable visual feedback. Rather than treating artificial intelligence as a corporate optimization tool, UPC subverts the technology to hold corporations accountable at the point of consumption.

Live Demo – Try Out Here: https://unethicalchecker.cloud/

 

Background

By recasting the Universal Product Code (UPC) symbol, a global icon of commercial inventory and automated capitalism into an instrument of tactical transparency, “UPC” invites viewers to confront the hidden human cost behind corporate supply chains. Accessible through a functional web prototype at coin-operated.com/upc, the artwork leverages accessible web technologies and device cameras to turn the act of shopping into an interactive site of socio-political critique, urging audiences to rethink their relationship with global consumerism.