Data-Masks (Series) by Sterling Crispin

This late-early example of machine learning art explores the intersection of AI and identity through 3D-printed masks. Artist Sterling Crispin reverse-engineered facial recognition and detection algorithms, creating masks that reflect the way machines perceive human faces. Each mask, produced using genetic algorithms, mirrors the biases and patterns inherent in surveillance technology. Exhibited at ZKM Karlsruhe for GLOBALE: Infosphere in 2015, these works critique the aggressive overdevelopment of biometric surveillance, making invisible power structures visible. The series serves as both a political protest and a poetic reflection on the evolving relationship between humans and the technological "other.” It also highlights the relationship between evolutionary and genetic algorithms on early AI art.