Seven Grams

AR Journalism

Have you ever wanted to see the way your phone works? Have you ever opened it and marveled at this treasure trove of technology that fits in the palm of your hand, sleeps under your pillow, and lights up under your gaze more than 2000 times a day? Have you ever wondered how it was made and what resources were needed to make it work? Seven Grams is an augmented reality experience by journalist Karim Ben Khelifa (The Enemy) that provides a radically innovative way to understand the link between your smartphone and the often dramatic conditions in which the rare minerals it requires are mined, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

When the world's most powerful economy, the United States, was valued at $20.5 trillion in 2018, the total value of mineral resources in the DRC was estimated at $24 trillion. So how is it possible that, on the HDI (Human Development Index) ranking, the DRC is only 176th out of 181 countries? For the Congolese people, the DRC's wealth seems to be a curse, rather than a blessing. For over 25 years, the Congo has been the stage for one of the deadliest conflicts since World War II, with nearly six million deaths. Meanwhile, other countries have grown rich off of the Congo's wealth, due to the growing demand for minerals essential to the production of phones and other devices that have become part of our daily lives.

Mixing augmented reality and animation sequences, Seven Grams tells you this story, inviting you to discover the minerals used in your smartphone and their unique characteristics. Through a poignant and moving story, Seven Grams takes you up the production chain of our smartphones and gives you an insight into their human cost.