Published as a conference paper at Pacific University Philosophy Conference And Then the Hammer Broke: Seeing Machine Vision Reflections on Machine Ethics from Feminist Philosophy of Science Andre Ye Department of Philosophy Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science University of Washington andreye@uw.edu Abstract Vision is an important metaphor in ethical and political questions of knowl- edge. The feminist philosopher Donna Haraway points out the “perverse” nature of an intrusive, alienating, all-seeing vision (to which we might cry out “stop looking at me!”), but also encourages us to embrace the embodied nature of sight and its promises for genuinely situated knowledge. Current technologies of machine vision – surveillance cameras, drones (for war or recreation), iPhone cameras – are usually construed as instances of the former rather than the latter, and for good reasons. However, although in no way attempting to diminish the real suffering these technologies have brought about in the world, I make the case for understanding tech- nologies of computer vision as material instances of embodied seeing and situated knowing. Furthermore, borrowing from Iris Murdoch’s concept of moral vision, I suggest that these technologies direct our labor towards self-reflection in ethically significant ways. My approach draws upon paradigms in computer vision research, phenomenology, and feminist epistemology. Ultimately, this essay is an argument for directing more philosophical attention from merely criticizing technologies of vision as ethically deficient towards embracing them as complex, methodologically and epistemologically important objects. Keywords: machine ethics · feminist philosophy of science The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend. Henri Bergson 1 The Hammer Technologies of machine vision deeply unsettle us: behind the dark film of the camera lens lies some perverted nonhuman Other who records, surveils, and sees everything. “Vision in this technological feast become unregulated gluttony,” Donna Haraway writes in her seminal essay “Situated Knowledges”.. 1 “Seeing everything from nowhere... this eye fucks the world to make techno-monsters.”’ Indeed, our world is thoroughly populated with stories of these techno-monsters. Facial recognition systems used by the New York State Department of Corrections incorrectly classify inmates’ family members as barred persons, especially for Black and Brown people. 2 The Chinese state runs computer vision algorithms on data pools from an extensive system of surveillance cameras to track individuals at 1. Donna Haraway, “Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective,” Feminist Studies 14, no. 3 (1988): 581. 2. https://www.nyclu.org/en/news/inaccurate−facial−recognition−prisons−keeping−families−apart 1 arXiv:2403.05805v2 [cs.CY] 8 Apr 2024