Will Beauty Become a Medium for the Sacred in the Age of AI?
If part of the self lives in virtual space, where is the true "I"? What happens to human consciousness if it can fully exist in digital form? These changes will likely expand the nature of humanity.
by Aida Dzhanhirova
The interview with Alexander Beridze
Will Beauty Become a Medium for the Sacred in the Age of AI?
The Artist’s Opinion
Untitled, Mixed Media
News and research portals today are focused on the profound digital transformations of our lives. It’s impossible to be considered progressive without mentioning Artificial Intelligence's role in humanity's future. The creative world is grappling with existential questions: Where can we find motivation to paint, write texts or music, and more when AI already does it better and faster? Moreover, the audience of viewers, listeners, and readers seems to be on the verge of disappearing.
A relatively young direction in contemporary art, Science Art explores new forms of life and consciousness, with artists mastering scientific tools and methods of inquiry to create new images. A notable example is the experience of the Paris-based artist of Russian origin, Alexander Beridze. In search of answers to modern challenges, he uses the "old method" of canvas and paint, yet conceptually aligns with the objectives of Science Art and Neuro Art.
The Cultural Singularity project began discussing the questions of creativity in the age of Artificial Intelligence and new virtual worlds with Alexander Beridze as early as late autumn of 2024. Inspired by our discussion, the artist rewrote his manifesto, A Call to Beauty (1). The result of our discussions is presented in an interview with the artist.
CS: Based on the listing of your solo exhibitions, it’s clear that in recent years you’ve been exploring forms of consciousness. Scientists describe your works as “mental figurative.” Could you share more about this stage of your creative journey?
AB: I work in large series of 50–60 pieces each, and I never give titles to individual paintings or even to the series. However, in 2017, when I started a new series, by the third or fourth painting, I already knew it would be titled Reflection — from the French réfléchir (to think). I began publishing them on social media with the hashtag #reflection.
More than one year later, I was contacted by a large group of French scientists — mentalists, neurobiologists, psychologists, and philosophers — who came to Nice in 2018 for my first exhibition, organized with the Nice City Hall. They walked me from painting to painting like a child, explaining to me what I had painted. It was a truly astonishing experience.
The scientists told me they had been working with consciousness and the subconscious for over 25 years and had been forced to imagine how thought processes occur. With the advent of new equipment, such as MRT and advanced scanners, they had made significant progress in understanding the thinking process. When they saw my paintings, they realized my work aligned with their concepts.
Untitled, Mixed Media
As a result, the series was named Mental Figurative because, to the scientists, it wasn’t abstract but figurative, as clear and comprehensible as figurative art. Since then, I’ve been working to study and visualize how thought processes can be represented.
One of my new ideas emerged after a conversation with nuclear physicists who reminded me that thought processes don’t occur as electromagnetic impulses alone; they can be broken down via spectral analysis and associated with various colors. When neurons transmit electrical impulses, this involves the movement of ions across the neuron’s membrane, creating electrical potential. These impulses, or "spikes," manifest as voltage changes measurable through electroencephalography (EEG) or other neuroimaging methods.
Spectral analysis can be applied to study such signals. It allows complex electrical signals to be broken down into components with different frequencies. In the context of the brain, this means analyzing which frequencies (e.g., alpha, beta, gamma rhythms) dominate in certain brain states.
Now, about colors: while electrical impulses themselves have no color, data derived from spectral analysis can be visualized using colors to simplify interpretation. For instance, neuroimaging often employs heat maps or spectral diagrams, where different frequencies or levels of activity are assigned various colors. This enables the creation of visual representations that can be associated with brain activity.
CS: You’ve written a series of articles and manifestos outlining the state of art in the digital age. What are the main challenges facing the traditional art system today?
AB: Today, digital art, including NFTs and works created with the help of Artificial Intelligence, has given rise to a new aesthetic and type of art. However, the question arises: can digital art, especially that created by AI, convey the "sacred" feeling spoken of by great artists of the past?
Great works of art have always been valued for the spiritual spark the artist imbues in their creation. An artist doesn’t merely replicate reality; they convey their unique perspective, inner state, and emotions, infusing a part of their soul—perhaps even their pain, experiences, and hopes. This "living" energy is what makes a masterpiece magnetic and enigmatic.
A work created by a computer, even if technically flawless, often lacks this "inspiration." Artificial Intelligence can produce impressive visual effects, combine colors and forms, analyze millions of artworks, and mimic styles. However, it cannot experience joy, suffering, love, or any other human emotion that artists bring to their work.
The absence of emotional experience is one of the reasons digital art often feels devoid of the sacred. A computer creates based on algorithms and statistics, but it cannot "experience" or "live through" the creative process. This doesn’t make AI-generated art less interesting, but it leaves a sense of "emptiness" when one seeks a spiritual dimension in it.
Human art often carries the imprint of the artist’s personality. For example, Van Gogh expressed his inner turmoil through vibrant and impulsive brushstrokes, while Mark Rothko conveyed profound emotions through large color fields radiating tension. These nuances are challenging to replicate for AI, which lacks an inner world.
In traditional art, there is a concept of "spiritual energy" conveyed through the work. Many artists have spoken of a connection to higher forces they felt during the creative process. For some, the act of painting was akin to prayer—a way of understanding and expressing the world. AI does not seek meaning or reflect on its creation; it simply generates based on data.
In living art, there is room for chance and improvisation, guided by intuition and the moment. Many artists discovered something new in accidental brushstrokes, in "mistakes" that evoked a special feeling. A computer, creating with precision and predictability, lacks this element of serendipity.
Perhaps the future of art lies in the synthesis of the human and the digital. Artists can use digital tools as part of the process to enrich their vision or find new ways to interact with art. In this case, art created with the help of AI becomes a palette rather than an independent "author." The personal contribution of a human using new technologies can bring that same "spark" to digital art.
Some believe that digital art can acquire a "sacred" quality only when it transcends technicality. If an artist uses digital tools to express deep emotions and ideas, the resulting artwork can be meaningful. What matters is not so much the technique as the process and the artist's intent. Contemporary art reflects the era we live in. If it lacks spirituality, this may point to the technologization and rationalization of our world. However, humanity always seeks to infuse art with a touch of the profound and the ineffable, something beyond algorithms.
CS: If we consider a person’s real life as their artistic creation (with the individual being the creator), how would you describe their experience in the digital world, where most scenarios are crafted by programs? For example, in the metaverse, your actions are regulated and predetermined.
AB: That’s a fascinating question! If we view a person’s life as an artistic creation, their "digital reflection" in the metaverse indeed becomes a unique form of experience. It’s important to distinguish between two aspects: in the real world, a person truly is the author of their life, deciding where to go, whom to engage with, and which values to embrace. In the digital world, particularly in the metaverse and similar virtual spaces, scenarios and possibilities are often predesigned and constrained by algorithms and the architecture of the system.
You could say that the digital experience, unlike the real one, is less of an "authored" work and more of an interactive game following someone else’s script. It resembles a theatrical production where the individual is more of an actor than an author. There is a degree of freedom, but it is always within predefined boundaries.
From the “Transpsychology” series, Untitled, Mixed Media
What could we call this digital experience?
- "Simularistics" – derived from "simulation" and "art." Virtual life in the metaverse is a form of simulation art, where the individual interacts with pre-scripted scenarios. It’s an immersive experience in which one is a co-creator but always constrained by the framework of code and algorithms.
- "Interaction dramaturgy" – a term emphasizing that every person can make a personal contribution to the unfolding action, but that contribution is always tied to the predetermined structure. In the metaverse, like an actor in a play, the person chooses their role, style, and way of interacting, but cannot step outside the script.
- "Digital co-participation" – is another way to describe an experience where the individual is "embedded" in a pre-created world and interacts with it but does not fully control the events. They are not the author but participants in the process, with their actions confined to limited choices.
"Virtual Performance" — actions in the metaverse can be seen as akin to a performance, where individuals take on roles and personas predefined by the system. This is not "life" but a staged enactment, aimed more at entertainment and exploration than genuine creative self-expression.
Does digital experience lack depth?
Interestingly, even within predetermined boundaries, a person can bring in personal emotions, and this subjectivity sometimes creates a unique experience. However, by its very nature, such an experience remains limited, and this limitation is what fundamentally differentiates it from real life. We might call it "pseudo-creativity" or "pseudo-reality" because it imitates life but lacks genuine spontaneity and freedom. A person can express themselves, but it is always on someone else’s platform and by someone else’s rules.
Virtual worlds give us the illusion of choice, but this illusion does not make us true authors. In the metaverse, individuals do not create new possibilities; they only select from those provided to them. This fundamentally distinguishes the digital experience from real life. Freedom in the digital world is always "regulated freedom," whereas freedom in real life is far more unpredictable and unique.
Ultimately, the digital experience could be described as a kind of "staged art," where each individual is an actor participating in a performance. Unlike real life, where one truly crafts their own path, in the virtual world, one remains more of a performer within a script. This is what makes digital experiences less sacred and less profound.
CS: What, in your opinion, will happen to human consciousness in the era of virtual worlds? Can we speak of duality or division in this case? After all, being in both the physical and virtual worlds, a person experiences different realities with the same consciousness. This also raises the question of digital twins.
The central question is whether this will result in synthesis or division.
The era of virtual worlds and the creation of digital twins raises complex questions about the nature of human consciousness and identity. At first glance, simultaneously existing in two realities—physical and virtual—may seem like a division of experience. However, human consciousness can synthesize disparate aspects into a unified perception. Even when experiencing different realities in the physical and virtual worlds, a person tends to perceive this as a single stream of life. Virtual Reality, rather than dividing identity, tends to expand it.
That said, dissonance can arise: if virtual and physical realities begin to starkly contradict one another, consciousness may experience tension, which could feel like division. Losing touch with physical reality is a real risk, especially if virtual worlds become dominant for an individual.
The creation of digital twins adds another layer of complexity. If a digital twin merely assists with tasks, it is perceived as an extension of capabilities. However, if the twin begins to act autonomously or becomes a second "self," it raises questions about responsibility, freedom, and identity. The boundary between the real "self" and the virtual avatar may blur, especially if a person starts identifying with this twin.
Virtual worlds, on the one hand, open new forms of experience and self-expression. On the other hand, they can lead to fragmentation of the self if the interaction with different realities is too disconnected. The most likely scenario, however, is a synthesis of these worlds, where physical and virtual realities integrate into a unified hybrid consciousness, and the boundaries between them gradually dissolve.
This requires philosophical awareness: if part of the self lives in virtual space, where is the true "I"? What happens to human consciousness if it can fully exist in digital form? These changes will likely expand the nature of humanity rather than divide it, but it is crucial to remember that virtual reality is only a part of the broader picture of human existence.
CS: What, in your opinion, is the role of art in the future?
AB: As I am an artist and philosopher, this is a very important question for me. I see myself not only as an artist but also as a visionary. In today’s context, when many talk about the decline or stagnation of art, I see the need to return to “Beauty” and the “sacred” in art. In my opinion, this direction can help overcome the crisis that has separated the artist from their creation.
It reminds me of when science rejected philosophy—a serious mistake, in my view. Today, there is a similar alienation between the artist and their work. Art increasingly gravitates toward concepts, experiments, or mass culture, losing the personal and spiritual dimensions that once made it great.
I believe a return to Beauty and the sacred could become not just a new artistic movement but a philosophy essential for the modern world. In a time when technology and speed dominate, people lose touch with themselves and their deeper experiences. Art that addresses Beauty as a spiritual category can reconnect people with something greater, beyond the mundane.
This can help evoke the presence of something inexplicable yet vital. The artist must once again recognize their role as a visionary—not just a creator of forms, but a conduit for spiritual experience. This is the task I see for myself as an artist-philosopher.
Art has become technical and rationalized, seemingly devoid of soul. But the synthesis of philosophy and art can restore its meaning. Philosophy seeks truth, while art can embody it in visible form. Their union could once again become a powerful force, sparking reflections on the world and the self.
Sacred art might be the answer to the challenges of modern materialism and technocracy, which have accustomed us to seek meaning only in the visible and tangible. Yet, the spiritual dimension of art reminds us that true meaning transcends the material.
In this context, aesthetics becomes a medium for the sacred. The reaction to a work of art can awaken a state in a person akin to meditation or inner enlightenment. Through Beauty and the Sacred, art can find new life and help people rediscover the path to self-knowledge and spiritual growth.