The Smartest Doorbell

The Dutch streets have gained a million cameras in the past five years. These cameras, known as ‘smart doorbells’, record image and audio with every movement.

For many, the smart doorbell is a source of friction. Users, manufacturers and even the police do not comply with Dutch rules on camera use. Neighbours, partners and children feel spied on by all these cameras on facades. Or they even suffer because images are constantly shared – without permission – on Whatsapp and TikTok.

Can the doorbell be a catalyst for a different kind of change?

Can it actually be privacy-forward, or independent of Big Tech?

Or could there perhaps be a way that the doorbell can improve your neighbourhood’s cohesion?

During this workshop, you are invited to create: what does the smart doorbell of your dreams look like? What conditions do you want your smart doorbell to fulfil? Assemble your prototype and write a patent for your creation!

Host: Roos Groothuizen

Roos Groothuizen is a media artist fighting for digital human rights. In her own practice and within the art collective Telemagic, she researches the human side of invisible algorithms, information filters and unfair distribution. Among other things, she developed ‘I want to delete it all, but not now’ an escape room about the power of Big Tech…. one from which you just can’t escape. She is also the founder of .zip in Rotterdam, an artistic making space for digital culture and alternative art forms.

In the last two years, Roos researched the Smart Doorbell, a friendly yet voyeuristic device that might change the way we look at surveillance cameras entirely. She dove into the aspects or trust and distrust, horror, neo-liberalism and eroding relationships. It resulted in an online, interactive publication that had its release in the summer of ’25.