Using AI to create a digital selfie was a revealing and slightly uncomfortable experience. Even though I provided the prompt, the final image felt like an interpretation of me rather than a direct reflection of my thinking. This made me aware of how AI systems actively shape self-representation instead of simply reproducing it. As Wu et al. (2021) explain, AI systems operate through feedback loops where human input guides the system, but the output ultimately reflects the machine’s internal logic. I experienced this firsthand, as my self-description was filtered through the AI’s own visual assumptions. The prompts I used combined physical descriptions with cultural and technological elements, such as algorithmic grids, social media imagery, and intentional digital distortions. These choices were influenced by Chubb, Reed, and Cowling’s (2022) discussion of how dominant AI narratives often exclude critical stories about identity, power, and bias. By including these elements, I wanted to resist idealized or polished representations and instead highlight the constructed nature of digital identity. While my prompts shaped the overall tone of the image, the AI still emphasized certain aesthetic conventions, revealing the limits of user control. The AI-generated selfie only partially aligns with my self-perception. While it loosely resembles my physical appearance, it does not fully capture how I understand myself. However, this disconnect became meaningful. The image reflects the tension between personal identity and machine representation, reinforcing the idea that AI-mediated self-representation is not neutral but shaped by cultural and technological systems that determine what is visible and what is left out.
Thank you for this thoughtful reflection. Your observation that the AI-generated image "felt like an interpretation of me rather than a direct reflection of my thinking" cuts to the heart of an important question about these technologies: Who is really doing the representing when we use AI tools for self-expression?
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your intentional choice to include "algorithmic grids, social media imagery, and intentional digital distortions" in your prompts. This kind of meta-commentary; using the AI to reflect on its own constructed nature; is a strong approach and reinforces what we spoke about in the live chat - critical thinking: question and have curiosity about what you are seeing/reading/creating. Your point about resisting "idealized or polished representations" reminds us that every digital platform and tool carries assumptions about what a "good" image or "proper" representation looks like.
The tension you've identified between "personal identity and machine representation" will be rich territory to explore further in your critical analysis paper. I encourage you to think more about what specific aesthetic conventions the AI emphasized and what that reveals about whose perspectives are encoded in these systems.
Looking forward to seeing how you develop these ideas in Assignment 3.