  Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are widely deployed in smartphone
photography; and prompt-based image synthesis models have rapidly become
commonplace. In this paper, we describe a Research-through-Design (RtD) project
which explores this shift in the means and modes of image production via the
creation and use of the Entoptic Field Camera. Entoptic phenomena usually refer
to perceptions of floaters or bright blue dots stemming from the physiological
interplay of the eye and brain. We use the term entoptic as a metaphor to
investigate how the material interplay of data and models in AI technologies
shapes human experiences of reality. Through our case study using first-person
design and a field study, we offer implications for critical, reflective,
more-than-human and ludic design to engage AI technologies; the
conceptualisation of an RtD research space which contributes to AI literacy
discourses; and outline a research trajectory concerning materiality and design
affordances of AI technologies.
