Insurgent gazes:
facial recognition and technopolitics of resistance at Criptofunk 2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35699/2318-2326.2026.59716Keywords:
Facial Recognition, Public security, Community engagementAbstract
This article reports on a community activation experience aimed at mobilizing civil society and fostering critical discussion about the risks of using Facial Recognition (FR) in public security. FR, an Artificial Intelligence-based technology, has been expanding in Brazil under the promise of efficiency and neutrality. However, it exhibits significant flaws that lead to unjust arrests and reinforce structural prejudices. Far from being merely a technical tool, FR operates as an agent within an opaque technopolitical process of surveillance that disproportionately affects black and peripheral populations. The community activation detailed in this article took place at the Criptofunk 2024 event, held in the Maré favela complex in Rio de Janeiro. It comprised four integrated activities: experimentation with Emotion Recognition algorithms; a workshop featuring a presentation and debate on FR; resistance makeup; and a live graffiti performance with the FR theme. The high level of public engagement indicates the proposal's success in connecting the university with the community, promoting horizontal exchanges, social critique and mutual learning about the impacts of these technologies.
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