Can Sarıçoban

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into artistic production demands a radical reassessment of authorship, creativity, and the ontology of the image. This paper investigates the threshold between human intuition and machine computation. By exploring the framework of "algorithmic aesthetics," it poses fundamental questions: In a hybrid visual ecology, who owns the signature of creation? Is the artist merely the prompt-writer, or does the machine hold agency as a co-creator? Furthermore, what emerges when the algorithm is left to its own randomness? To answer these questions, this paper expands the discourse beyond mere aesthetics, positioning the AI not just as a tool, but as an emerging authority figure. Drawing upon the critical theory of the Frankfurt School, particularly Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer's critiques of rationality and the culture industry, the presentation examines how society increasingly surrenders to the perceived objectivity and infallibility of algorithmic systems. If Artificial Intelligence is voluntarily accepted as an unquestionable authority capable of dictating truth, there is a profound risk of diminishing critical thought and succumbing to "algorithmic governance". In this paradigm, contemporary art must serve as a critical mechanism of resistance rather than a passive instrument of technological compliance. To ground this philosophical inquiry, the paper examines the transmedial exhibition project, A(m) I ART(ificial), as a primary case study. In this curatorial project, photography is not treated as a static, final result, but as a conceptual workspace to bend and stretch modern thought. An authentic, human-authored photograph serves as the "core" of truth, while its borders are excessively expanded and transformed through the algorithmic imagination of an AI. Crucially, the methodology of the exhibition refuses to simulate perfection. The analog/digital textures of the original photograph (grain, tonal flaws) are preserved, while the computational traces of the AI (inconsistent perspectives, digital discontinuities) are deliberately left visible. The "seams" between the analog document and the digital simulation are intentionally exposed rather than concealed. This visual friction forces the gaze to constantly negotiate the boundary between physical reality and the neural network's data pool, creating a state of ontological uncertainty. By bringing organic lines into collision with digital discontinuities, the project sabotages the viewer's conventional visual reading habits. The dualities of "self/other," "organic/digital," and 'chance/calculation' lose their strict definitions. The presentation ultimately argues that exposing these ontological seams prevents the image from becoming a mere technical spectacle. Instead, it creates a transmedial space for deep contemplation on how algorithmic systems are actively redefining human aesthetic experience. By making the "seams" visible, A(m) I ART(ificial) challenges the absolute authority of the algorithm, proposing a hybrid visual ecology where the human hand and machine logic remain in a continuous, critical negotiation. Paper presented at the 21st International Conference on the Arts in Society, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, 10–12 June 2026.

Alan Turing’in 1950 yılında “Makineler düşünebilir mi?” sorusu ile başlayan yapay zekâ serüveni, günümüzde süper yapay zekâ (ASI) seviyesine ulaşarak yeni bir otorite figürü haline gelme potansiyeline sahiptir. Bu çalışmadaki amaç yapay zekânın otorite figürü olarak benimsenip benimsenmeyeceğini ve bunun toplumsal, politik ve etik sonuçlarını tartışarak; “Yapay süper zekânın (ASI) otorite figürü olarak kabul edilme süreci ve bu sürecin toplumsal yapılar üzerindeki etkileri nelerdir?” sorusu üzerinde durmaktır. Çalışmada, Frankfurt Okulu’nun başta otoriter kişilik ve diğer bazı kavramları üzerinden yapay zekânın otorite olarak benimsenme süreci değerlendirilmektedir. Literatür taraması ve teorik analiz yöntemleri kullanılarak yapay zekânın gelişim süreci ve potansiyel etkileri incelenmiştir. Yapay zekânın demokratik süreçler, toplumsal adalet ve eşitlik üzerindeki etkileri değerlendirilmiş, ASI’nin algoritmik yönetişim kapasitesinin demokratik değerleri nasıl şekillendirebileceği tartışılmıştır. Yapay süper zekânın merkeziyetçi ve dağıtık otorite yapıları üzerindeki olası etkilerine değinilmiş, etik ve hukuki çerçevelerin oluşturulması gerekliliği vurgulanmıştır. Dolayısıyla yapay zekânın bir otorite figürü olarak insanlar tarafından kendiliğinden benimsenmesinin hem özgürleşme hem de baskı mekanizmalarının beklenmedik bir biçimde yeniden şekillenmesine yol açabileceği ve bunun öngörülemesi zor sonuçları değerlendirilmiştir. Sunulduğu yer: Congist’24 Social Sciences and Artificial Intelligence: Theory and Practice, İstanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi, 18–20 Aralık 2024. Özet: Book of Abstracts, s. 40 (e-ISBN 978-605-07-1774-7).

This article expands on the concept of aura, within the frame of art ontology, and based on neurophilosophy, the stages of human thought, and peak experiences. Aura, generally signifying the subjective value of a work of art, is in this work associated with peak experiences and neurobiological impacts. In this context, the concept of aura involves an effort to understand the effects that a work of art has on the viewer and how these effects form a peak experience. This study investigates how aura and peak experiences have changed and evolved in different cultural and historical contexts, considering the stages of human thought. In the end, the thesis presents a broader definition of the concept of aura; stating that aura shows variability according to conditions, periods, and spaces, and it is a concept that enables the subject to reach peak experiences.