Uncertain faces. An investigation into visual forms for communicating otherness

This chapter deals with the sociocultural performativity of artificial intelligence systems when communicating the meaning of otherness. To achieve its aim, it traces the effects of automated facial images on the sociocultural communication of otherness, the face, and its reproduction through visual artifacts being a privileged device for displaying an identification process. The chapter firstly proposes a cross-reading of Emmanuel Lévinas’ writings on the phenomenology of the face and Judith Butler’s reading of it with the aim of transducing and bringing their insights up to date with contemporary visual culture. Drawing on these sources, the chapter establishes an epistemic compass with which to navigate the universe of facial images, identifying a series of processes of codification of otherness: from the media representations of the enemy to the diffusion of the contemporary para-faciality, passing through the iconic value of face types. Furthermore, considering arts a privileged realm for reversing engineering and reconfiguring patterns toward otherwise neglected latent possibilities, the chapter recurs to the analysis of an artistic practice to understand how otherness is communicated within artificial intelligence systems.