This project is the last iteration of research that is mapping and cataloguing images produced during conflicts, especially focusing on digital images that are simulating photorealism and those that are used as forensic proofs. We also have a special interest in how video games and game engines are being used in this field.
We are working mostly on images that are a result of digital simulation. Letting AI partially out, we mostly focus on those images that are created in forensic environments. How are these images created? Do these methods have an epistemological base? Are these images used to uncover facts or to justify violent actions? Forensic images, though developed in forensic environments, often become detached from their original context. As standalone visuals, they are perceived as representing real facts, even when not backed by scientific research. These images can be recreated, mimicking the aesthetic to give the illusion of presenting objective truths. This is why we propose the term "intelligence realism" to describe this visual tendency, where the appearance of truth is crafted without necessarily being grounded in a proper methodology.
IDF simulation of tunnels under The Shifa Hospital. This is the caption under the video, written by IDF in their Youtube channel:
The Shifa Hospital is not only the largest hospital in Gaza but it also acts as the main headquarters for Hamas’ terrorist activity. Terrorism does not belong in a hospital and the IDF will operate to uncover any terrorist infrastructure.
Starting from this assumption, we decided to focus on a technologically advanced war—a war that is also constantly creating intelligence material. This is why we focused on the Israeli-Gaza war and specifically on IDF's intelligence press releases related to how they are finding Gaza's tunnels.
Modern warfare is a matter of simulation.
In today's wars, complex technological systems are used to enhance control and operational efficiency. In this environment, computer simulations are an important tool for intelligence to plan, prevent, and attack efficiently. Afterwards—or sometimes even beforehand—these simulations serve as documents to testify to real facts. They become relevant documents to justify actions made or still to be made.
The IDF's use of algorithmic methods to locate tunnels in Gaza prompts questions about the validity of these techniques. While these advanced tools aim to predict and uncover threats, they rely on speculative data and partial information. Moreover, given the extensive freedom with which the IDF operates, these methods could serve to justify actions that have significant humanitarian impacts.
To illustrate the potential pitfalls of such approaches, we developed a video game using computational methodologies to recreate data that resembles intelligence methods.
The IDF's algorithmic methods to locate tunnels in Gaza prompt questions about the validity of these techniques. While these tools aim to predict and uncover threats, they rely on speculative data and partial information. Moreover, given the extensive freedom with which the IDF operates, these methods could serve to justify actions that have significant humanitarian impacts.
To illustrate the potential pitfalls of such approaches, we developed a video game using computational methodologies to recreate data that resembles intelligence methods.
Video games, thanks to their render quality, are serving as pseudo-photographic media.
In some cases, video games are used to create fake war footage, as happened with Arma 3 during the Ukraine war.
Despite the inherent reductive nature of images, photographs, videos, scientific images, data visualizations, and computer simulations are often perceived as authentic representations of facts, implying objective truth. The disciplinary contexts and methods of creation of an image dictate the viewer's categorization of that image as either relevant or arbitrary.