Computer Vision for Artists and Designers was a fascinating read about the topic of Computer Vision, a concept that is constantly gaining more traction in our world, but that is not understood as much as it should be. Personally, I was already aware of the concept, but not deeply enough as the reading presented, especially when it comes to its history and evolution throughout the years. The examples provided were also amusing, especially the ones that were more focused on people, such as the “Suicide Box” by the Bureau of Inverse Technology and “Cheese” from Christian Möller. What is interesting to me is that computer vision can be used both for purely artistic reasons and for social reasons. For instance, Suicide Box creates several discussions about the ethics of utilizing suicide as an experiment, such as the implications of recording people taking their own lives while doing nothing to prevent it. Or with “Cheese”, an installation that tracks people’s smiles, and plays an alarm when the display of happiness falls below a certain threshold. To some, this could be just a silly experiment, but when you think about it, corporations could absolutely enforce some sort of similar system to their employees, displaying the powers that such a technology can offer in our society.
Additionally, it was also interesting to read about the technological advancements of computer vision in physical optimizations and in multimedia authoring tools. With the examples provided, such as the technique of retroreflective marking materials used for safety uniforms and the “Limbotime” game, it made it much easier to comprehend the practical uses of these methods, which motivated me to know more about them.