Computer Vision for Artists and Designers:
In reflecting on this paper on computer vision, I find its potential utility for artists and designers both compelling and distinct from human vision. The difference between computer vision and human vision mostly comes down to senses—humans use their five senses to process information, while computers need fixed algorithms to handle physical or visual data. But once that data is processed, we can program the computer to trigger a specific action based on what it sees.
A lot of the techniques in the paper revolved around pixel tracking, which is basically comparing one pixel to a predefined one until a match is found. This could be useful in something like a salad-sifting machine, where I could train the model to recognize red pixels as tomatoes and have it remove all the red objects, essentially removing all the tomatoes from my salad.
As for how computer vision’s ability to track and surveil affects its use in interactive art, I think it’s a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s amazing for creating immersive, responsive art that can change depending on how people interact with it—like tracking movement or emotions to alter the artwork in real-time. But at the same time, the idea of constant surveillance can be slightly problematic, especially in art spaces where people want to feel free and unobserved. So, there’s this tension between using computer vision to enhance interactive experiences and making sure it doesn’t cross any lines when it comes to privacy.