Within the framework of the extensive research carried out by Trevor Paglen (Camp Springs, USA, 1974) on how artificial intelligence systems condition our world, the series Cloud focuses on observing clouds through the “eyes” of various algorithms of synthetic vision. The cloud formations shown in these works are overlaid by lines and strokes describing what the program “sees” in them, pursuing what, in human perception, is defined as “pareidolia”. This phenomenon involves identifying different shapes in ambiguous visual schemes (for instance, the form of an animal recognized in a cloud). The machine’s error, generated by its interpretive incapacity, highlights one of the most critical aspects of collecting and mechanically processing data through algorithms.
Trevor Paglen