Pierre (22.01): Hmm, but wouldn't integrating xeno-images into training datasets make them ultimately part of the norm, and thus taking away their subversive power? Isn't the use of the machine the problem with imagination, since it reifies floating thoughts and possibilities according to its own material conditions?
Esther (24.01): In this instance, the dataset is designed with the objective of generate operational and symbolic images that aim to permeate the hegemonic visual imagination by means of their refunctionalisation. Comprising alien images co-imagined alongside synthetic brains, the dataset serves as an artistic medium akin to paint on canvas, rather than functioning as training content. In this context, datasets do not constitute an integral component of a procedural sequence. The adoption of this particular format is deliberate, intending to prompt reflection on the shared capacity of both humans and machines to envision concepts based on their visual perceptions and mental generative processes. The contemplation of the array of alien images itself constitutes an aesthetic encounter. It is anticipated that the resulting cyborg creation will instigate inquiries into the delineations of human identity, the potential dissolution of gender, and the complex emotional responses elicited when confronted with entities that are simultaneously alien and familiar.
I wondered if this exhibition, Cryptid by Joey Holder, was a useful or relevant reference. Some more info here. Holder was interested in possible creatures, exploring "explore queer ecology and the limitations of Western scientific taxonomy." The exhibition focuses on plankton as "one of the most understudied and diverse groups of creatures on the planet" and which is vital to all life on earth. --Mateus (talk) 17:37, 26 January 2024 (UTC)