No. 1 (2026)
Critique of artificial reason: sociological perspectives on power, ethics, and human relations

1/2026

Falling for the soldier. Sociological gazes between light and algorithms

Published 2026-01-31

  • Francesca Guarino

Francesca Guarino
Unibo, DSE

Abstract

The pretext of an iconic shot—and the doubt it carries, “is this image true?”—opens the question and the reflection developed in this contribution on the transition from images of light to images of data, in the context of artificial intelligence. Through references to visual sociology, the Uncanny Valley effect, the concept of “hallucination” in generative systems, and the analysis of concrete applications, the text interrogates, albeit with a circumscribed approach, synthetic images not as mere fakes but as signs of a deeper shift. The aim is to encourage a renewed visual literacy and an inductive, situated approach capable of facing emerging complexity without losing the anchor of sociological imagination.

Keywords

photography;, sintography;, promptography;, visual sociology;, modern truth;, post-ocular model;

PDF (Italian)

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  32. Immagine 2 - Animazione della fotografia di Robert Capa, The Falling Soldier (1936).
  33. Video realizzato da Francesca Guarino con Runway Gen-4 AI (24/06/2025), a partire dallo scatto originale. Link diretto: https://youtu.be/iejlhGw7OhM; L’uso della fotografia originale è a fini accademici e non commerciali.
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