LG Guggenheim Award Winner Paglen: "The AI Era Where We Must Prove What Is Real"

The Rise of Generative AI: Changing Our Ways of Perception
From Filtering Out Fakes to Proving What Is Real
Impact Spreads Across Culture and Politics
A Need for Reflection on AI Ethics

"After the outbreak of the Iran war, I tried to understand the situation through social networking services (SNS). In that moment, I realized my way of thinking had completely changed. In the past, I used to filter out fake or incorrect information, but now I was searching for 'what is real.'"

We may now be living in a world where we must prove what is real, rather than simply filtering out fake images. Trevor Paglen, a renowned American artist, warned in an interview with reporters at the Guggenheim Museum in New York on the 14th (local time) that artificial intelligence (AI) technology is fundamentally changing the way humans perceive the world.

Paglen, this year’s recipient of the LG Guggenheim Award, is known for exploring themes such as technological surveillance and AI bias. He has revealed the materiality of "invisible infrastructure," such as undersea cables, data centers, and military satellites, and is now investigating how AI impacts human perception.

Paglen diagnosed that, over the past 15 years, there have been two major inflection points in how we see images. The first is "computer vision." He explained, "Autonomous vehicles, automated quality control systems in factories, and facial recognition systems at airports are representative examples," adding, "These computer vision systems all generate images for other machines rather than for humans."

His work "Gait Classification" directly embodies this perspective. It visualizes how AI classifies and tracks human walking patterns, showing how algorithms reduce the human body to mere data.

Paglen pointed out, "Historically, images only existed when seen by humans. Now, we live in an era where images can be both created and utilized without the presence of humans," calling this "a very fundamental change."

We read emotions and judge others through nonverbal cues such as eye contact, facial expressions, complexion, and gestures. However, computer vision interprets humans based on data points, such as pixels, patterns, and probabilities. In this process, individual uniqueness is erased, and humanity is lost.

Contrary to our belief that computer vision should be objective, it has learned biases. "The Faces of ImageNet," which exposed racial and gender bias by analyzing AI training data, is an artwork that extends this critical awareness.

The second inflection point is generative AI. Paglen observed, "Now we live in a time when there does not have to be an author behind the text, an artist behind the artwork, or a photographer behind the photograph." He highlighted the severing of the connection between creator and creation.

In reality, such images are now ubiquitous. After the outbreak of the Iran war, fake images generated by AI online became a source of controversy. Paglen noted, "The approach is no longer to remove what is fake, but rather to assume everything is fake and search for what is real," adding, "I think this could have a very profound impact on culture, society, and politics as a whole."

Trevor Paglen's audience participatory project "Faces of ImageNet". LG

Paglen's concerns are not new. Michel Foucault argued that power operates through the structure of the "invisible gaze," and Hannah Arendt warned that when the boundary between fact and fiction becomes blurred, collective perception of reality itself can be shaken. The fake images generated by AI show that these warnings have become reality.

He emphasized, "Right now, something significant is happening, and we need to understand it and consider how to avoid the negative consequences that might result."

When asked whether companies can resolve AI bias, Paglen responded, "I do not see this problem as solely the responsibility of individual entrepreneurs or developers," adding, "Especially in the United States, I believe the time has come for a much deeper discussion not only about how we want to use technology, but also about what we do not want technology to do."

There is a reason Paglen explores changes in perception brought about by AI through his art. He also expressed hope that this award would help broaden the perception of research-based art.

Paglen said, "I work in a way that is different from the traditional approach of painting in the studio every day," adding, "I want to show other artists that collaborating with various experts and going through long periods of investigation can also be considered art."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.