But what does an image do ? We argue that Lena was not passive. By repeatedly circulating through labs, textbooks, and benchmark suites, she normalized three dangerous assumptions: (1) that a single, high-contrast portrait of a white woman with a feathered hat is a sufficient stress test for all visual tasks, (2) that the origin of data is irrelevant to its mathematical utility, and (3) that the pleasure of seeing a conventionally attractive face is an acceptable substitute for rigorous, diverse sampling.
Beyond the Test Image: Deconstructing ‘Lena’ and Reimagining Benchmarking for Equitable Vision Systems
Today, the term "Lena Vision" is slowly fading from active vocabulary, replaced by massive, diverse datasets.