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ABSTRACTWhen Japanese game producer Hideo Kojima lamented that it is very difficult to "turn Asian people into CG," his frustration pointed not to some ineffable anatomical complexity of Asian physiognomy but to the racial bias already embedded in prevailing face rendering technologies that increasingly incorporate AI. This talk investigates how AI recodes "Asian" faces into operative images in games, with particular attention to the scientific paradigms and epistemological convictions that underpin such recoding. It focuses on three Chinese deep learning models that reorganize facial information and redistribute semantic significance on digital faces. Tracing these models' scientific foundations through histories of physiology, psychology, and emotion science, I examine how the game medium algorithmically inscribes race and ethnicity onto digital objects as what I call a "human bug."
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Yedong Sh-Chen received his Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University in May 2026 and currently teaches at Wellesley College. His research explores video games, artificial intelligence, emotion science, and modern Chinese and East Asian media cultures and technologies. His current book project, Chinese Video Games: World, Object, and Artificial Intelligence, examines the history and global circulation of Chinese video games and gaming technologies, from the pixel era to generative AI. His broader interests include world-building, AI ethics, and the intersections of technology, emotion, and play.
Sponsored by:
Karch Gaming Institute at the Moody College of Communication, Department of Asian Studies, & Center for East Asian Studies
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G.B. Dealey Center for New Media (DMC) 5.208, 300 W Dean Keeton St, Austin, TX, United States, Texas 78712
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