Post-Human Playground: AI, Art, and the New Frontier of Creativity
Somewhere between code and consciousness, a new aesthetic is forming. We here at 032c have spoken to many of the thinkers and artists at the vanguard of this transformation.
Actor Alicia Vikander in the film Ex Machina (2015).
Somewhere between code and consciousness, a new aesthetic is forming. We here at 032c have spoken to many of the thinkers and artists at the vanguard of this transformation.
This collection of articles from the 032c archive explores the growing entanglement of art and technology: from Cory Arcangel’s battle against AI spam to Hajime Sorayama’s sexy robots and the post-human performance of Abel Tesfaye. Here, the line between human and non-human blurs, and something eerily new emerges.
So we ask ourselves:
What happens to art when the machine gains agency too?
When the artist falls for the algorithm?
When the audience becomes a line of code?
And in a world where anything can be simulated—how do we tell the difference between what’s real and what’s not?
What is AI? Matteo Pasquinelli
Gustave Doré, The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, Inferno, Canto 28: The Severed Head of Bertrand de Born Speaks to Dante, 1885
Philosopher Matteo Pasquinelli challenges the view of AI as a mere machine-based simulation. Drawing from his book The Eye of the Master (2023), he traces AI’s roots to ancient practices and collective labor while arguing that it is as a statistical mapping of society rather than a replication of human thought. In this interview with Shane Anderson which was originally published in 032c Issue #44, Pasquinelli calls for a new culture of AI that makes its social foundations visible.
EDGLRD: Harmony Korine Sets Technology Aflame
For decades, Harmony Korine launched an all-out assault on the film industry, forever changing how we perceive the medium. Recently, Korine launched the creative studio EDGLRD that explores the future of stories in the age of AI. In this dossier from 032c Issue #44, Cassidy George delves into Korine’s past and future.
Chat GPT Therapy, AI Boyfriends, and the Rise of Automated Intimacy
As we further integrate AI into our personal lives, our societal definitions of guidance, connection, intimacy, and love are shifting. Here, Cassidy George explores the impact of chatbots on human relationships during a period of transition that is as radical as the Sexual Revolution.
The Weeknd Interviews Abel Tesfaye
In this surreal 032c Issue #45 cover story, Abel Tesfaye (aka The Weeknd) meets his younger self through an AI-generated chatbot. Reflecting on memory, fame, and identity ahead of his upcoming film Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025), the piece blurs the boundaries between past and future, performance and selfhood, transforming the classic celebrity interview into a digital odyssey.
THE BIG FLAT NOW
In this article, Thomas Bettridge and Lucas Mascatello explore The Big Flat Now—a cultural condition defined by the collapse of boundaries between art, fashion, content, and identity. Designed by Jonathan Castro and developed with Joerg Koch, the concept reflects a world where commerce and creativity blur, and where appropriation, irony, and authenticity dissolve into a new, ambient visual language.
Hajime Sorayama: What I Draw Are Human Beings
On the occasion of Hajime Sorayama’s first solo museum show, “Desire Machines” (2024), Cassidy George speaks with the legendary erotic artist known for his iconic “sexy robots.” Here, Sorayama reflects on objectification, ancient myth, and his unapologetic obsession with beauty, machines, and desire.
Notes From Underground: LUKE NUGENT’s AI Editorials Fictionalize Subcultures
In this feature, photographer Luke Nugent speaks with Cassidy George about his AI-generated editorials that reimagine and fictionalize subcultures. Blending fashion, technology, and speculative storytelling, Nugent uses generative tools to create hyperreal images that celebrate and critique the aesthetics of identity in the age of AI.
Gross AI Spam with Cory Arcangel
Cory Arcangel, Let's Play Majerus G3 📽️, 2024 © Cory Arcangel and Michel Majerus Estate, 2024. Courtesy Cory Arcangel, Michel Majerus Estate and Rhizome.
In “Let’s Play Majerus G3” at the Michel Majerus Estate (2024), Cory Arcangel connects early 2000s digital culture with today’s influencer era, using Majerus’ old laptop as a starting point. Through YouTube videos and a conversation with Claire Koron Elat, he reflects on Facebook spam, image authenticity, and the art of navigating online fame.
Meet DR. BJ FOGG: Master of Persuasive Technology
In this interview, BJ Fogg—founder of Stanford’s Persuasive Technology Lab and mentor to Silicon Valley figures such as Instagram’s Mike Krieger—speaks with Eva Kelley about how digital design shapes human behavior. From Aristotle’s rhetoric to military workshops, Fogg unpacks the origins and impact of persuasive tech, and what it means for our increasingly bot-mediated future.
A Reality TV Star as President: Marco Brambilla
Desire, Marco Brambilla
Curated by Jérôme Sans, Marco Brambilla’s “Altered States” (2024) at Golden Goose HAUS in Venice is a collision of memory, fantasy, and media. For HAUS Week, 032c hosted panel talks expanding on the show’s themes and here Claire Koron Elat spoke to Brambilla about media spectacle, political illusion, and the contrast between Hollywood and the art world.