I recently saw the following video of a technology that models human faces:
This got me thinking about relationship we have to our face. Our face is the most public representation of ourselves to society, yet is it also our most intimate and personal feature and it’s what we think of when we think of ourselves.
What happens if faces can be easily generated and replicated? What would seeing yourself mean?
For example, there is often an immediate outcry when a celebrity sex tape is leaked. But what if there is no the difference between the video being real or fake? Could we become detached to our own face if it’s no longer unique? I can imagine a future, with technology like this, where seeing a video of yourself doing something shameful, criminal, or embarrassing has little or no impact in the way you see yourself or the way you think people will see you.
In the the movie Gattaca there is a scene that reminded me of this scenario. A fugitive’s face was plastered everywhere, but no one noticed him; The face was just another part of the body. Biometrics was the only way to truly identify someone.