“What We Lose to the Algorithm”
Medium: Digital Photo Collage
“What We Lose to the Algorithm” explores how artificial intelligence reshapes our self-image by imposing manufactured ideals of perfection. At its center are untouched portraits, unfiltered representations of authentic identity. Surrounding them are AI generated versions, each created using the repeated prompt: “Show me what he/she would look like if they were perfect.” These prompts form the border of the piece, mirroring the algorithmic pressures we silently absorb. I seek to examine the growing psychological and aesthetic divide between who we are and who the AI systems suggest we should become. I question how easily beauty becomes commodified, reduced to coded patterns rather than expressions of our authentic selves.