Street Scenes: Public Appliances for GenAI Video in Informal Settlements

Generative AI is rapidly diffusing worldwide, yet access remains uneven. In informal settlements, barriers of cost, literacy and connectivity can exclude residents from AI-enabled self-expression. This paper presents Street Scenes: a public appliance for walk-up interaction with generative AI video in Dharavi, Mumbai. Inspired by the “Hole in the Wall” computers and previous Dharavi speech deployments, the system lets passers-by capture phone images, add voice-, button- and dial-based prompts, and generate short videos to view and leave locally. We report on ideation workshops, two Wizard-of-Oz prototypes and a 13-day in-situ deployment across Dharavi street locations. Findings show residents appropriating AI for play, self-presentation, small business promotion and community messaging, while also raising concerns about privacy, trust and misuse. We contribute: (1) a model for public AI appliances; (2) empirical insights into community engagement with generative AI; and, (3) design lessons for accessible, equitable and community-governed AI systems.