Capture / Paolo Cirio (IT)
Paolo Cirio’s works embody the contradictions, ethics, limits, and potentials inherent in the social complexity of information society through a provocative, critical, and proactive approach—as seen in his projects about Google and Facebook. Capture examines facial recognition as used in Europe by authorities and companies without a clear legal framework. The artist used facial recognition software to filter out the faces of 4,000 police officers from over 1,000 photos taken during protests in France. Using crowdsourcing, he identified them by name on an online platform and posted the officers’ headshots as street art posters throughout Paris. This deliberately provocative action comments on the potential of facial recognition and artificial intelligence. The lack of privacy regulations for such technology eventually turns it against the same authorities that urge its use. This provocation triggered reactions by France’s Interior Minister and the police unions, leading to the censorship of the artwork.
"Capture" received a Honorary Mention at the Prix Ars Electronica 2021.
Credit: Ars Electronica - Robert Bauernhansl
Capture / Paolo Cirio (IT)
Paolo Cirio’s works embody the contradictions, ethics, limits, and potentials inherent in the social complexity of information society through a provocative, critical, and proactive approach—as seen in his projects about Google and Facebook. Capture examines facial recognition as used in Europe by authorities and companies without a clear legal framework. The artist used facial recognition software to filter out the faces of 4,000 police officers from over 1,000 photos taken during protests in France. Using crowdsourcing, he identified them by name on an online platform and posted the officers’ headshots as street art posters throughout Paris. This deliberately provocative action comments on the potential of facial recognition and artificial intelligence. The lack of privacy regulations for such technology eventually turns it against the same authorities that urge its use. This provocation triggered reactions by France’s Interior Minister and the police unions, leading to the censorship of the artwork.
"Capture" received a Honorary Mention at the Prix Ars Electronica 2021.
Credit: Ars Electronica - Robert Bauernhansl