Ding, J.: Can data die? : why one of the Internet's oldest images lives on wirhout its subjects's consent (2021)
0.03
0.025747139 = product of:
0.051494278 = sum of:
0.040896185 = weight(_text_:data in 423) [ClassicSimilarity], result of:
0.040896185 = score(doc=423,freq=20.0), product of:
0.14807065 = queryWeight, product of:
3.1620505 = idf(docFreq=5088, maxDocs=44218)
0.046827413 = queryNorm
0.27619374 = fieldWeight in 423, product of:
4.472136 = tf(freq=20.0), with freq of:
20.0 = termFreq=20.0
3.1620505 = idf(docFreq=5088, maxDocs=44218)
0.01953125 = fieldNorm(doc=423)
0.010598094 = product of:
0.021196188 = sum of:
0.021196188 = weight(_text_:processing in 423) [ClassicSimilarity], result of:
0.021196188 = score(doc=423,freq=2.0), product of:
0.18956426 = queryWeight, product of:
4.048147 = idf(docFreq=2097, maxDocs=44218)
0.046827413 = queryNorm
0.111815326 = fieldWeight in 423, product of:
1.4142135 = tf(freq=2.0), with freq of:
2.0 = termFreq=2.0
4.048147 = idf(docFreq=2097, maxDocs=44218)
0.01953125 = fieldNorm(doc=423)
0.5 = coord(1/2)
0.5 = coord(2/4)
- Abstract
- Lena Forsén, the real human behind the Lenna image, was first published in Playboy in 1972. Soon after, USC engineers searching for a suitable test image for their image processing research sought inspiration from the magazine. They deemed Lenna the right fit and scanned the image into digital, RGB existence. From here, the story of the image follows the story of the internet. Lenna was one of the first inhabitants of ARPANet, the internet's predecessor, and then the world wide web. While the image's reach was limited to a few research papers in the '70s and '80s, in 1991, Lenna was featured on the cover of an engineering journal alongside another popular test image, Peppers. This caught the attention of Playboy, which threatened a copyright infringement lawsuit. Engineers who had grown attached to Lenna fought back. Ultimately, they prevailed, and as a Playboy VP reflected on the drama: "We decided we should exploit this because it is a phenomenon." The Playboy controversy canonized Lenna in engineering folklore and prompted an explosion of conversation about the image. Image hits on the internet rose to a peak number in 1995.
- Content
- "Having known Lenna for almost a decade, I have struggled to understand what the story of the image means for what tech culture is and what it is becoming. To me, the crux of the Lenna story is how little power we have over our data and how it is used and abused. This threat seems disproportionately higher for women who are often overrepresented in internet content, but underrepresented in internet company leadership and decision making. Given this reality, engineering and product decisions will continue to consciously (and unconsciously) exclude our needs and concerns. While social norms are changing towards non-consensual data collection and data exploitation, digital norms seem to be moving in the opposite direction. Advancements in machine learning algorithms and data storage capabilities are only making data misuse easier. Whether the outcome is revenge porn or targeted ads, surveillance or discriminatory AI, if we want a world where our data can retire when it's outlived its time, or when it's directly harming our lives, we must create the tools and policies that empower data subjects to have a say in what happens to their data. including allowing their data to die."
