Artificial Cheeks
Keywords:
Face, AI, Standardization, Skin, Haptic, VisualityAbstract
The article delves into the intersection of artificial skin, visuality, and human perception through MyHeritage’s Deep Nostalgia feature, which animates old family photographs. Using autoethnography as a method, the authors analyze the affective impact of animating the faces of deceased loved ones. Central to the analysis is the concept of “haptic visuality,” as described by Laura U. Marks, where images are not only seen but also felt, engaging memory and touch. The authors compare Deep Nostalgia’s animation of a facial image – one very familiar to one of the authors – with that author’s embodied and personal experience of that face. The analysis considers two aspects of the skin: its depth and temporality – aspects that typically give rise to a personal and embodied haptic visuality in the encounter with facial images of loved ones. The authors argue that while the AI-generated animations of faces are visually engaging, they fail to capture sensory depth due to the standardization of the face and its movements. This results in what is termed a ruined haptic visuality.
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Hjemmesider
Digitalt ansvar. Website: https://www.digitaltansvar.dk/aktuelt/fremstilling-af-manipuleret-seksuelt-materiale-uden-samtykke-skal-vaere-ulovligt-i-danmark (sidst tilgået 30. oktober, 2024).
