Who’s Missing?
“Who’s Missing” is an artistic exploration that confronts our complex relationship with technological progress, specifically our current anxieties about artificial intelligence, through the paradoxical lens of historical computing. Set against the timeless backdrop of classical European architecture, this photographic series presents a deliberately unsettling vision: vintage computers paired with empty chairs, creating scenes that are simultaneously nostalgic and prophetic.
The project originated from a simple yet profound question: As we stand on the brink of an AI revolution, are we merely repeating a cycle of hope and fear that has accompanied every technological breakthrough? By choosing obsolete computers as my subject matter, I aim to create a temporal mirror that reflects our current technological moment back through the prism of past aspirations and anxieties.
Each photograph in the series captures a solitary computer terminal and an unoccupied chair positioned within the grand architectural spaces of a historic city. The empty chairs serve as powerful symbols of human absence, raising questions about displacement, progress, and the role of human agency in technological advancement. These aren’t just vacant seats; they are spaces of possibility, invitation, and warning — depending on how we choose to interpret our relationship with technology.
The deliberate use of black and white photography in these AI-generated images strips away the distraction of color, focusing attention on form, shadow, and the interplay between the geometric precision of the computers and chairs against the organic flow of classical architecture. This aesthetic choice also places the images in a kind of temporal limbo — they could be from the past, present, or an alternate future, encouraging viewers to question their own place in the continuous stream of technological progress.
What makes this project particularly relevant is its timing. As we grapple with unprecedented advances in artificial intelligence, these images invite viewers to consider how previous generations faced their own versions of technological anxiety. The vintage computers, once at the cutting edge of innovation, now appear almost quaint, yet in their era, they inspired similar debates about human obsolescence and the future of work that AI generates today.
The project challenges both techno-utopianism and neo-Luddite resistance by presenting a more nuanced view of technological progress. These images suggest that the absence of humans might be a choice rather than an inevitability — that our relationship with technology is not predetermined but rather shaped by our collective decisions and values.
“Who’s Missing” also serves as a meditation on the nature of progress itself. By showing technology that was once considered revolutionary but is now obsolete, the project encourages viewers to question their assumptions about technological determinism. It suggests that perhaps the most important element in any technological revolution is not the technology itself, but the human wisdom that guides its implementation.
The empty chairs in these photographs become metaphors for human potential — spaces that can either be reclaimed or abandoned, depending on our choices. They ask viewers to consider their own role in shaping the future of human-machine interaction. Will we choose to occupy these spaces, maintaining our presence and agency in the technological landscape? Or will we allow ourselves to be displaced, leaving behind empty chairs as monuments to human absence?
As we stand at this critical juncture in technological history, “Who’s Missing” reminds us that every generation has faced its own version of these challenges. The project suggests that the key to navigating technological change lies not in either blindly embracing or rejecting it, but in maintaining our human perspective while thoughtfully integrating new capabilities into our lives and societies.
These photographs ultimately serve as both warning and inspiration — a reminder that as we rush toward an AI-enabled future, we must remain mindful of the lessons embedded in our past relationships with technology. They challenge us to consider not just what technology can do, but what it should do, and how we can ensure that human wisdom, creativity, and agency remain at the center of technological progress.
In an era where AI promises to transform society as profoundly as the computer revolution did before it, “Who’s Missing” asks us to pause and reflect: In our pursuit of progress, what are we leaving behind? And more importantly, who will choose to sit in these chairs and guide technology toward human flourishing rather than human obsolescence?
