The Agency of Images in the Cognitive Ecology of Artificial Intelligence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33732/ASRI.986Abstract
In the cognitive ecology of AI, the ontological distinction between persons and artifacts appears more blurred today than ever before. This renders the question of image agency a cross-cutting issue for both the phenomenon of AI and contemporary artistic practice—a shift driven primarily by technical advances in generative AI (GenAI) and its promise of autonomous creativity, which challenges the very nature of human agency. Furthermore, technology companies leverage creativity to extol the agency of AI (Steyerl, 2025): the aesthetic and photorealistic quality of GenAI-produced images is presented as evidence of the supposed creative and cognitive capabilities of AI systems.
Against this backdrop, this special issue presents an ontological and epistemological discussion regarding the agency of GenAI and the images it produces. Its central aim is to question the extent to which GenAI can be considered an autonomous creative agent and to explore the possibilities—or limitations—its images create for cognition, artistic practice, and contemporary critical action. The articles included in this issue engage in a dialogue to offer a multifaceted perspective on the algorithmic image and its forms of agency.
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