<2025 AI ELSI Public Seminar>
Greetings,
The AI Ethics, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) Research Center at the AI Institute of ºìÌÒÊÓƵ (Director: Prof. Hyunduk Cheon) is pleased to invite you to an upcoming public seminar. This event will feature a presentation by Dr. Heewon Kim (Hanyang University) on the early history of facial recognition technologies.
At a time when image classification and generation technologies are advancing rapidly, this seminar offers a valuable opportunity to reflect on how the human face came to be encoded and treated as a measurable object. We look forward to your interest and participation.
Date & Time: Friday, May 23, 2025, 16:00¨C17:30 (KST)
Venue: Online via Zoom
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??Meeting ID: 869 1326 0524
Speaker: Dr. Heewon Kim (Hanyang University)
Title: Face in Codes: Trained Observers and Sensory Multipliers in the Competing Universes, 1952¨C1971
Abstract:
In the mid-1950s, a group of scientists began to adopt and systematize film and photography for analyzing facial and body movements. What seemed like a straightforward task¡ªcollecting data on human behaviors through visual instruments¡ªposed new challenges for the scientists, who were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of data. In response, they either emphasized the investigator¡¯s trained judgment to navigate streams of data or devised computerized systems designed to categorize behavioral units, thereby enabling more expedient and objective analysis.
Drawing on the writings and exchanges of Margaret Mead, Ray Birdwhistell, Paul Ekman, and Silvan Tomkins, this essay argues that the divide between these groups was deeply rooted in their scientific practices, shaped by a complex interplay of professional identity, technological instruments, and scientific objects. Highlighting one of the earliest moments when scientists began encoding facial expressions to decode the cultural or emotional contexts that govern them helps us understand how these expressions came to be regarded as codifiable and measurable entities.
Hosted by: AI ELSI Research Center, AI Institute, ºìÌÒÊÓƵ
Supported by: National Research Foundation of Korea
Contact: Ms. Hayoun Yoo (snuaielsi@gmail.com)