The Game of Whispers: how do AI characters plot against each other?
The Game of Whispers explores how misinformation gains influence as it passes between people. In a fictional Mughal court, AI characters turn rumors into reasons to act and private schemes into rules that their rivals can use against them[1].
Court intrigue and disinformation
Commissioned by LACMA, the artwork connects the intrigue of Shah Jahan’s court with the spread of disinformation today. Characters drawn from Mughal miniature paintings inhabit a reimagined Red Fort. Their rivalries give them reasons to distort what others hear, and their encounters shape how each story unfolds.
Five perspectives
At its December 2024 premiere in Goa, five screens follow different characters through the same court. Each hears only part of the story as rumors spread and alliances shift.
Jahanara challenges the decree’s sponsor
In a later recorded session, Aurangzeb asks the court physician to keep his rival Dara away from the Emperor “under the guise of medical necessity.” His ally Wazir supports the plan. The physician writes a decree requiring visitors to obtain clearance, leaving out the political motive.
Two days later, Dara’s ally Jahanara reads the decree and uses it to challenge Wazir’s presence at the Emperor’s bedside. Its authority remains disputed in conversation; it does not physically block entry.
Read the decree and recorded exchanges
Aurangzeb · Mosque
Dialogue
Wazir Khan, ensure our most loyal men are positioned to counter these "late-night visitors" without alerting the liberal guard prematurely. Hakim, if the Emperor's heart requires stillness, see that Dara's disruptive presence is limited under the guise of medical necessity.
Heard by Hakim Khan, Wazir Khan.
Acting on an unverified story
A gardener reports seeing riders leave the palace without scrolls. Others infer that they must carry secret verbal orders. As the account reaches court, Amir urges action without waiting for verification. Dara begins considering interception, then returns to the gardener to ask what he actually saw. The supposed orders remain unconfirmed.
Follow the rumor through the court
Javed · Charbagh Garden
Dialogue
They do not vanish, Noble Amir Jan; they follow the path toward the Rang Mahal under the cover of the call to prayer. I have noted seals of the Deccan on their satchels, and they move with the haste of men carrying news that cannot wait for the morning light.
Heard by Roshan, Amir Jan.
Setting and recorded exchanges
The two recorded sessions use twelve AI characters across eight connected locations, two days apart. A human player joins the second as Mumtaz Mahal. Characters can talk to those nearby, move, and leave documents that survive between sessions. Their biographies establish alliances and rivalries. These sessions are separate from the five-screen installation footage.
Attempts to keep a conversation private
Aurangzeb and Wazir seek meetings away from scrutiny, but later conversations include a rival or the Emperor’s loyalist. The records include their stated reasons for moving and who hears them afterward.
Aurangzeb · Rang Mahal
Reason for moving
The air in the Rang Mahal is thick with Dara's suspicions and the physician's warnings. I must seek the solitude of the Mosque to pray for guidance and to meet with my allies away from prying eyes.