Transforming Faces
In-Process student talk
Joseph Ferenbok
Details:
Bahen Rm. 7231
November 29th, 2007
1:00-2:00 pm
Bio:
- PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Information Studies
- KMD Graduate Fellow
Abstract:
My research investigates the social and cultural dimensions of the face as a technology of institutional identification. Since the idea of computer-assisted human identification based on surrogates of physical or behavioural characteristics was first proposed in the 1960's (see for example Trauring 1963), biometric technologies have been viewed (by many) as the Holy Grail of identification—promising a direct link between real-world entities and individuated institutional identities. Even without interoperable standards and despite several notable failed trial implementations of facial recognition technologies (FRTs), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) adopted surrogates of the face as the primary biometric token of global air travel for member states in May of 2003. Although there are undoubtedly many complex reasons why FRTs in particular were chosen and have gained such momentum in the post 9/11 socio-political climate (as compared to other competing and more mature biometric technologies), the cultural status of the face and its ideological connection to identity should not be overlooked.
Faces are already used as visual signifiers of institutional identity (e.g. a driver's license) and citizenship (e.g. passports) nearly worldwide. Consequentially, basing national biometric identification schemes on the face could be viewed simply as a technological extension of existing practices—the status quo. However the automation of face recognition practices through biometrics not only facilitates the development of a networked-surveillance infrastructure, but may also affect current conceptions of identity and citizenship. My dissertation seeks to understand the socio-historic construction of FRT and asks questions about institutional practices of facializing identity, the deterritorialization of the body onto the face through technological surrogates, and the implications of face-based surveillance infrastructure.
The institutional practice of facializing identity represents a contextual technological frame of the current development in face-recognition technology. Is "the face"—as a socially maintained metaphor, secondary to technological development and innovation? Or has "the face" contributed to the embellishment and momentum of face-based identity technologies and practices—essentially driving what was, in the post 9/11 climate, an immature technology. My interdisciplinary research discusses the theoretical position of the face as an ideological technology of citizenship within a broader study of institutional identification systems and their implications for national identity and security. Drawing on a variety of empirical materials such as, scientific articles, government documents, and cultural texts my research attempts to unpack the Face-identity myth in order to understand its implications for citizenship and the construction of self. What are some of the implications of understanding "the face" as an identity practice? And what role do face-based biometric technologies play in the continuation of the status quo?