I’ve always thought of digital art and computer vision as really complex concepts, almost intimidating, because they felt so tied to technical expertise. What I appreciated about Levin’s article is how he breaks it down so it feels a little less intimidating. Reading it, I realized that these tools don’t always need to be heavy or advanced to be meaningful; even simple algorithms can create powerful, interactive experiences.
That point resonated with me because I’ve actually worked on a VR project before for a class final. It was a “build your own concert” type of game, and looking back, I can see how much it connected to the kind of work Levin describes. We weren’t doing anything revolutionary with the code, but the way people could move and interact with the environment really made the experience. Especially since our target audience was those who can’t attend concerts due to health concerns. His emphasis on preparing the environment as much as the software clicked with me here.
One of the main ways human and computer vision are different is through interpretation. While we humans can think outside the box, make different connections, see things from various angles, and recognize their different forms. Computers see things as a set of pixels and only ‘think’ in terms of structured algorithms. It’s very literal. What happens when we combine both?
This is why I was especially drawn to Krueger’s Videoplace. I’d read about him in Understanding IM before, and I’ve always liked his idea of using the human body itself as the interface. It made me think about how Steve Jobs framed the first iPhone: our fingers are the “best pointers out there,” which is why touchscreens felt so natural. It’s a reminder that sometimes the most effective tech feels the least like “technology” and the most like an extension of ourselves.
At the same time, I couldn’t help but think about the ethical side. While Levin highlights the playfulness and creative potential of computer vision, I also worry about issues like privacy and misuse. As an artist or designer, you can try to account for these risks, but sometimes it’s beyond your control once the technology is out in the world. For me, that overlap between limitless creativity and real-world responsibility is something I want to keep in mind as I continue building my portfolio in IM.
Overall, this reading made computer vision feel less like an intimidating black box and more like a tool I could actually experiment with. It left me curious not just about what I can create, but about how to do it thoughtfully.