Images in the

Era of the Algorithm
Josh	Clark

Principal,	Big	Medium
IMAGES
IN THE ERA OF
THE ALGORITHM
josh clark
@bigmediumjosh
bigmedium.com
ANTICIPATE
WEIRDNESS
DESIGN FOR
FAILURE AND
UNCERTAINTY
MACHINE LEARNING

IS THE NEW

DESIGN MATERIAL
MACHINES THAT SEE
MACHINES THAT CREATE
MACHINES THAT DECIDE
images + algorithms
THE CAMERA IS
THE INTERFACE
1. machines that see
PHOTOS ARE THE
CREATIVE UNIT
OF MOBILE
IN THE WAY THAT THE FLASHING CURSOR
BECAME THE STARTING POINT FOR
[DESKTOP], WE BELIEVE THAT THE
CAMERA SCREEN WILL BE THE STARTING
POINT FOR…SMARTPHONES.”
Snapchat public offering
“
MURAL
Pinterest
MINIMIZE INPUT,
MAXIMIZE OUTPUT
WHAT CAN WE



THE IMAGE?
INFER FROM
WHAT CAN WE



THE IMAGE?
IMPOSE UPON
Housecraft
INTELLIGENCE

AS A SERVICE
https://aiexperiments.withgoogle.com/giorgio-cam
Giorgio Cam
aiexperiments.withgoogle.com/giorgio-cam
YOU DON’T
HAVE TO BE
A SCIENTIST
THE MACHINES
MAKE MISTAKES
South Park
http://southpark.cc.com/clips/6zs9up
HONEST
INTERFACES.
PRODUCTIVE
HUMILITY.
USE THE CAMERA AS UI
PLAY WITH THE APIS
EMBRACE UNCERTAINTY
do this today
THE ARTIST AS A
YOUNG ROBOT
2. machines that create
https://www.fastcodesign.com/3062016/this-neural-network-makes-human-faces-from-scratch-and-theyre-terrifying
https://cdv.dei.uc.pt
BETTER
ASSISTANTS
THAN ARTISTS
NEW LAYERS OF
PERCEPTION
Google Pixel Buds
Google Pixel Buds Translate
youtu.be/kWb1ysqtc4o
Here One
hereplus.me
Here One
hereplus.me
EVERYONE IS GOING TO HAVE
THEIR OWN SUBJECTIVE
REALITY FOR WHAT THE
WORLD SOUNDS LIKE.”
Fritz Lanman
“
https://qz.com/870552/doppler-labs-wants-to-put-two-extra-brains-in-your-ears/
Magic Leap
magicleap.com
youtube.com/watch?v=lP5ZZI05A3g
PERCEPTION
NEW LAYERS OF
NEW LAYERS OF
ILLUSION
Rogue One
CycleGAN
github.com/junyanz/CycleGAN
CycleGAN
github.com/junyanz/CycleGAN
face2face
youtube.com/watch?v=ohmajJTcpNk
EVERYONE IS GOING TO HAVE
THEIR OWN SUBJECTIVE
REALITY FOR WHAT THE
WORLD SOUNDS LIKE.”
Fritz Lanman
“
https://qz.com/870552/doppler-labs-wants-to-put-two-extra-brains-in-your-ears/
CAN WE NO
LONGER TRUST
IMAGES?
MUST WE
DEFAULT TO
SKEPTICISM?
MAGICAL
ENVIRONMENTS
CREATE
MAGICAL
ENVIRONMENTS
DETECT
SPLASH IN PUDDLES
BE TRANSPARENT
BE CRITICAL
do this today
HELPERS,
GATEKEEPERS, OR
OVERLORDS
3. machines that decide
THE MACHINES
KNOW ONLY WHAT
WE FEED THEM
I WANT TO GET MY HEART WITH YOU.
YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL THAT YOU KNOW
WHAT I MEAN.
YOU MUST BE A TRINGLE? CAUSE YOU’RE
THE ONLY THING HERE.
YOU LOOK LIKE A THING AND I LOVE YOU.
A neural network’s pickup lines
“
http://lewisandquark.tumblr.com/post/159302925452/the-neural-network-generated-pickup-lines-that-are
GARBAGE IN,
GARBAGE OUT
WHAT IS
NORMAL?
WHAT IF NORMAL
IS GARBAGE?
Whites only?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHynGQ9Vg30
https://www.facebook.com/mashdnkutcher/photos/a.142015455967643.1073741825.129845083851347/694716907364159/
LET’S NOT
CODIFY THE PAST
LET’S NOT
CODIFY THE PAST
IMPOSE BIAS
THAT FAVORS THE
WORLD WE WANT
FIND THE RIGHT
DATA SET
https://www.topbots.com/comparison-enterprise-image-recognition-computer-vision-api/
WORK WITH
PEOPLE WHO
AREN’T YOU
I WANT MORE PHILOSOPHERS &
PSYCHOLOGISTS & POETS &
ARTISTS & POLITICIANS &
ANTHROPOLOGISTS & SOCIAL
SCIENTISTS & CRITICS OF ART.”
Genevieve Bell
“
https://www.oreilly.com/ideas/genevieve-bell-on-moving-from-human-computer-interactions-to-human-computer-relationships
MAKE IT EASY
TO CONTRIBUTE
(ACCURATE) DATA
Mark Zuckerberg
THE MACHINES
KNOW ONLY WHAT
WE FEED THEM
THE MACHINES
EAT US
YOU ARE THE PRODUCT
YOU ARE THE PRODUCT
YOU ARE THE TRAINING DATA
BE LOYAL

TO THE USER
ROOT OUT BIAS
BROADEN YOUR DATA
BROADEN YOUR TEAM
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
do this today
THIS IS A TIME
FOR WILD IDEAS
IF WE DON’T DECIDE
FOR OURSELVES,
THE TECHNOLOGY
WILL DECIDE FOR US
THE FUTURE
SHOULD NOT BE
SELF-DRIVING
THANKS! josh clark
@bigmediumjosh
bigmedium.com

Images in the Era of the Algorithm