Are we human or are we dancer? – AI creativity in the realm of XR

Abstract

As an emerging field of research, the intersection of AI and XR is expanding s in front of us as unexplored topologies of meaning. The field of extended reality, still stumbling in the periphery of the cultural semiosphere, is becoming increasingly connected to the very central today exponential growth of artificial intelligence. This paper explores the nature of this intersection and brings forward arguments for tackling the understudied questions of its social and artistic impact. Most studies currently examine the application of AI tools within the context of XR, not the other way around. Their focus is on collecting and analyzing data regarding the speed and effectiveness of creating realistic XR worlds, the user experience in its performance-driven aspects, interactivity and gestural locomotion techniques, as well as perceptual experiments based on studies of virtual assistants. This indicates a gap of research papers addressing the topic of AI’s impact on the cultural and social mechanics of XR. This paper bases its findings and proposals on several research papers conducted on the topic of social and artistic impact. These include for example “Extended Reality and Artificial Intelligence’s Ethical Crossroads: From Sensory Manipulation to Creative Disruption” and George Mason University studies on “Automatic Generation of VR Scenarios and XR Experiences”, as well as XR productions created by leading artists and studios in the field. On the one hand, the aim is to articulate a discussion on the upcoming changes in the field of artistic practices as a result of the introduction of AI toolkits, while on the other, to contextualize the use of artificial intelligence in the realm of XR’s potentialities for new types of networking.