Performance: AI Facial Profiling, Levels of Paranoia

In today’s digital age, biometric surveillance systems powered by AI are becoming increasingly common. AI companies claim their systems can analyze a person’s facial features to predict subtle patterns of so-called “suspect” personality types.
Inspired by psychometric research that purports to detect criminal potential from a single photograph—and drawing from the world of firearms—we present a “physiognomic machine”: A computer vision and pattern recognition system that assesses an individual’s ability to handle firearms and predicts their threat level through biometric facial analysis. The device features a weaponized camera and an AI-driven mechanical system that classifies individuals into two categories: high-risk threats and lower-risk subjects.
Situated between fiction and reality, the installation simulates a security protocol experience. It uses the individual as a point of departure for a critical examination of algorithmic bias, challenging the trust and legitimacy we place in so-called intelligent systems.