The power of computer vision: A critical analysis

Computer vision is a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI), focused on automizing the analysis of images and videos. This dissertation offers a critical analysis of computer vision, discussing the potential ethical and societal implications of the technology. The critical analysis is based on a new approach to AI ethics, which is inspired by the tradition of critical theory.

The goal of the critical analysis of computer vision is to uncover the multitude of ways in which computer vision can impact human autonomy. Some topics discussed in light of this goal are: the history of cameras and their constitutive effects, the ways in which facial recognition tools can misrecognize people in a normative sense, and the exploitative nature of datafication practices.

The critical approach to AI ethics that is presented in this dissertation, is critical in the sense that it shares critical theory’s emancipatory aim and preoccupation with power dynamics. The critical approach consists of a framework that allows AI ethicists to identify AI’s ethical and societal implications in terms of power, and to evaluate these issues in light of their impact on human autonomy. However, the approach also encourages more direct and in-depth applications of the critical theory literature to address AI’s impact on individual lives and society. The critical analysis of computer vision functions as a case study for testing out this new, critical approach to AI ethics.