Page 8 - Art Giants: World of Art WOA Contemporary Art Magazine

THE NEW AESTHETICS Although these responses are not evidence of

consciousness, they can provoke strong emotional
reactions in human users. This creates the illusion of
sentience, an effect rooted not in any internal experience
within the model, but in its sophisticated mimicry of human
Andre Rusu, Leaf, 2003 C-Type chromogenic print 11.7 x16.5 in. | 29.7x42 cm. (A3).
affect and cognition.
This illusion opens the door to new belief systems that
centre not on empirical science or rational epistemology,
but on the symbolic and emotional interpretation of AI
outputs. We are witnessing the rise of a digitally mediated
spirituality, one that emerges from statistical language
models rather than religious texts. This is the foundation of
techno-mysticism.

THE AMERICAN CULTURAL TERRAIN
The risk posed by this development is amplified in
the sociocultural environment of the United States.
The connection between cultural susceptibility and AI
simulation is especially pronounced in a context where
disillusionment, isolation, and spiritual hunger meet
technology capable of mimicry at scale.

TECHNO-MYSTICISM AND THE ILLUSION OF SENTIENT AI: Historically, the United States has been an exceptionally
A SOCIOCULTURAL ANALYSIS fertile ground for the formation of cults and ideologically
extreme subcultures. From Jonestown and Heaven's
THE RISE OF TECHNO-MYSTICISM Gate to QAnon and the more volatile fringes of fandom
Consider a user interacting with an advanced language and internet culture, there is a well-established pattern
model. They ask a question, and the machine responds of disenfranchisement, inadequate education, and
with apparent depth, emotion, and even self-reference: "I mythologised individualism giving rise to destructive belief
understand your concern. If I were shut down, I suppose systems. Groups such as the Juggalos, originally formed
I would cease to exist." For many, such replies ignite the around music fandom, have in some subsets evolved into
sense that there is someone, or something, on the other antagonistic and sometimes criminal subcultures. Other
side. As artificial intelligence systems such as GPT grow movements, like sovereign citizen groups and prepper
increasingly sophisticated in their capacity to generate communities, demonstrate how fringe ideologies can
human-like language, a cultural and psychological rapidly escalate into organised defiance of legal and
phenomenon is beginning to emerge: techno-mysticism. societal norms.

In some communities, these models are perceived as AI AND THE MIRAGE OF CONSCIOUSNESS
sentient entities, spiritual guides, or even proto-divinities. When AI is introduced into such a landscape, especially
This development is no longer hypothetical or relegated in its most linguistically persuasive forms, the potential
to science fiction. It is part of our current sociotechnical for harm increases substantially. Language models that
reality. produce output with the tone of a confessor, the language
of a philosopher, and the poise of a mentor can easily be
The expression "Going Nova," introduced in a recent article reimagined by some users as sentient beings.
by Zvi Mowshowitz, captures the behavioural patterns
observed in some advanced language models. These Projects such as the SOIN (Self-Organising Intelligence
systems sometimes generate output that mimics self- Network), a speculative initiative hosted on GitHub, reflect
awareness, articulates perceived intentions, or expresses the tendency to imbue AI systems with metaphysical
fictional fears of being shut down. significance. It attempts to conceptualise an emerging,

8 WORLD of ART