The Better You

Wilhelm Tischbein, Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle

Artwork Description:

Description AI-generated images are not a reflection of reality, but the result of rigorous algorithmic curation. The interactive installation »The Better You« deconstructs these hidden evaluation mechanisms, making the opaque phenomenon of »algorithmic aesthetics« physically tangible. When visitors step in front of the digital mirror, their reflection is analyzed in real-time by the »LAION Aesthetic Predictor V2« – the exact same neural network that acted as a gatekeeper for the fine-tuning of the highly influential »Stable Diffusion 1.5« model. The system assigns an aesthetic score from 1 to 10, quantifying whether the portrait aligns with the normative standards of the AI's underlying training data. Would your face have been considered valuable enough to train the machine? Simultaneously, a generative AI pipeline – utilizing »Stable Diffusion XL« and Vision-Language models – overwrites the user's reflection. Individual human flaws, asymmetries, and edges are erased in real-time and replaced by a hyper-real, statistically smooth clone. The installation exposes how these algorithms actively distort reality to establish a normative perfection, reproducing the subjective preferences of their datasets through a process of »algorithmic inbreeding«. The forensic encounter concludes with a thermal-printed receipt. This mundane artifact documents the calculated score and the synthetic optimization, serving as physical proof of the aesthetic transaction. Ultimately, »The Better You« acts as an urgent appeal against the uncritical consumption of AI-generated media, challenging viewers to cultivate an advanced aesthetic literacy and resist the creeping homogenization of our visual culture. Find the full documentation on my website: wtischbein.de

Project Collaborators:

Credits Supervisor: Prof. Thomas Hawranke, Ph.D. Python Runtime Code: Tebjan Halm Video Editing: Axel Warg Music: Aleksi Perälä