Artificial intelligence in the formation of new artistic reality: an epistemological analysis
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Published:
Feb 1, 2026
Keywords:
artificial intelligence, art, epistemology, artistic cognition, latent spaces, prompt engineering, digital art, cultural reception
Main Article Content
Larisa I. Nekhvyadovich
Email: lar.nex@yandex.ru
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9904-9554
Olga N. Kuznetsova
Email: onk2007@mail.ru
Yuliya A. Lysenko
Email: iulia_199674@mail.ru
Alla L. Usanova
Email: alla_leo@mail.ru
Abstract
The rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies has had a profound impact on contemporary artistic practice, leading to substantial transformations in the structure of cultural production and affecting the foundations of artistic value, mechanisms of legitimation, and traditional notions of creativity. This process has generated a crisis of classical art-historical categories and revealed the need to develop new theoretical approaches for analyzing artworks created with generative neural networks. The present study is devoted to the epistemological analysis of the role of artificial intelligence in shaping a new artistic reality, understood as a product of interaction between human intention and computational algorithms. The methodological framework integrates philosophical concepts of epistemology and sociology of culture with art-historical methods, including formal-stylistic and comparative analysis of works created through generative neural models. The research identifies shifts in the main epistemological models of art and reveals the specificity of algorithmic aesthetics, based on statistical analysis and probabilistic reconstruction of visual patterns. The result is the introduction of the concept of algorithmic epistemology as a tool for understanding cognitive processes in digital art. The study highlights and analyzes the fundamental differences between art oriented toward figurative representation and AI-driven practices focused on data processing and pattern generation. It is argued that there is a transition from classical authorial subjectivity to distributed agency, in which the artistic statement emerges through the interaction of multiple cognitive and technological actors. As a methodological outcome, the paper proposes a three-level analytical framework. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the systematization of the epistemological features of AI-assisted art and the development of methodological approaches for its analysis and curatorial interpretation. The practical significance of the study is expressed in the possibility of formulating new criteria for art-historical evaluation of digital art and supporting innovative artistic practices under conditions of digital transformation.
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How to Cite
Nekhvyadovich, L. I., Kuznetsova, O. N., Lysenko, Y. A., & Usanova, A. L. (2026). Artificial intelligence in the formation of new artistic reality: an epistemological analysis. Society and Security Insights, 8(4), 163-177. https://doi.org/10.14258/SSI(2025)4-10
Section
SOCIAL, CULTURAL, HISTORICAL STUDIES AND SECURITY
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References
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Hayles N. K. Unthought: The Power of the Cognitive Nonconscious. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017.
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Kwastek K. Aesthetics of Interaction in Digital Art. Cambridge (MA): MIT Press, 2023. 288 p.
Manovich L. Cultural Analytics. Cambridge (MA): MIT Press, 2021.
Mackenzie A. Machine Learners: Archeology of a Data Practice. Cambridge (MA): MIT Press, 2021. 312 p.
Panofsky E. Meaning in the Visual Arts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1955.
Parisi L. Contagious Architecture: Computation, Aesthetics, and Space. Cambridge (MA): MIT Press, 2019. 376 p.
Schapiro M. The Nature of Abstract Art. New York: George Braziller, 1994.
Schapiro M. Theory and Philosophy of Art: Style, Artist, and Society. New York: George Braziller, 1994.
Wölfflin H. Principles of Art History: The Problem of the Development of Style in Later Art, translated by P. S. G. Murphy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984.
Алексеева И. Ю. Человеческое знание и его компьютерный образ. Рос. АН, Ин-т философии. Москва: ИФРАН, 1993. 215 с.
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Амосов Н. М. Автоматы и разумное поведение. Опыт моделирования. Киев: Наукова Думка, 1973. 375 с.
Аристотель. Этика. Политика. Риторика. Поэтика. Категории. Минск: Литература, 1998. С. 1064–1112.
Гройс Б. Искусство как биография: трансформация творчества и культурных практик. СПб.: Академический проект, 2016. 128 с.
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Кудин П. А., Ломов Б. Ф. Использование средств технической эстетики для повышения эффективности операций приема и передачи информации человеком. ЛГУ, 1965. С. 125–143.
Сигида Д. А. Основные подходы исследования искусства в теоретической культурологии // Аналитика культурологии. 2012. № 3 (24). С. 84–87.
Соловьева Л. Н., Соловьев В. В. Человек и искусственный интеллект: на пути к постантропологическому будущему // Общество: философия, история, культура. 2023. № 11. С. 126–132.
Хренов Н. А. Искусство в ситуации культурологического поворота: методологические поиски: монография. М.: Канон+ РООИ «Реабилитация», 2024. 624 с.
REFERENCES
Alekseeva, I. Yu. (1993). Chelovecheskoe znanie i ego komp'iuternyi obraz [Human knowledge and its computer image]. Moscow: IFRAN. (In Russ.)
Amosov, N. M. (1968). Modelirovanie slozhnykh sistem [Modeling of complex systems]. Kiev: Naukova Dumka. (in Russ.)
Amosov, N. M. (Ed.). (1973). Avtomaty i razumnoe povedenie. Opyt modelirovaniya [Automata and rational behavior: Modeling experience]. Kiev: Naukova Dumka. (In Russ.)
Aristotle. (1998). Ethics, politics, rhetoric, poetics, categories (pp. 1064–1112). Minsk: Literatura.
Bloom, H. (1973). The anxiety of influence: A theory of poetry. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Groys, B. (2016). Iskusstvo kak biografiya: transformatsiya tvorchestva i kul'turnykh praktik [Art as biography: Transformation of creativity and cultural practices]. St. Petersburg: Akademicheskii Proekt. (In Russ.)
Hayles, N. K. (1999). How we became posthuman: Virtual bodies in cybernetics, literature, and informatics (p. 150). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Hayles, N. K. (2017). Unthought: The power of the cognitive nonconscious (p. 132). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Kant, I. (1994). Kritika sposobnosti suzhdeniya [Critique of the power of judgment] (A. V. Gulyga, Trans. & Ed.). Moscow: Iskusstvo. (Original work published 1790) (In Russ.)
Khrenov, N. A. (2024). Iskusstvo v situatsii kul'turologicheskogo povorota: metodologicheskie poisky [Art in the situation of the culturological turn: Methodological searches] [Monograph]. Moscow: Kanon+ ROOI “Reabilitatsiya.” (In Russ.)
Kudin, P. A., & Lomov, B. F. (1965). Ispol'zovanie sredstv tekhnicheskoi estetiki dlya povysheniya effektivnosti operatsii priema i peredachi informatsii chelovekom [Use of technical aesthetics tools to increase efficiency of human information reception and transmission operations]. LGU, 125–143. (In Russ.)
Kwastek, K. (2023). Aesthetics of interaction in digital art. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Manovich, L. (2021). Cultural analytics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Mackenzie, A. (2021). Machine learners: Archeology of a data practice. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Panofsky, E. (1955). Meaning in the visual arts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Parisi, L. (2019). Contagious architecture: Computation, aesthetics, and space. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Schapiro, M. (1994a). The nature of abstract art. New York: George Braziller.
Schapiro, M. (1994b). Theory and philosophy of art: Style, artist, and society. New York: George Braziller.
Sigida, D. A. (2012). Osnovnye podkhody issledovaniya iskusstva v teoreticheskoi kul'turologii [Main approaches to art research in theoretical culturology]. Analitika Kul'turologii, 3(24), 84–87. (In Russ.)
Solovyeva, L. N., & Solovyov, V. V. (2023). Chelovek i iskusstvennyi intellekt: na puti k postantropologicheskomu budushchemu [Human and artificial intelligence: On the way to the post-anthropological future]. Obshchestvo: Filosofiya, Istoriya, Kul'tura, 11, 126–132. (In Russ.)
Wölfflin, H. (1984). Principles of art history: The problem of the development of style in later art (P. S. G. Murphy, Trans.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1915)
Zaks, L. A. (1985). K issledovaniyu fenomena khudozhestvennoi real'nosti [On the study of the phenomenon of artistic reality]. In Khudozhestvennaya real'nost': sbornik nauchnykh trudov [Artistic reality: Collection of scientific papers] (pp. 47–59). Sverdlovsk: Ural State University. (In Russ.)
Hayles N. K. Unthought: The Power of the Cognitive Nonconscious. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017.
Hayles N. Katherine. How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999. P. 150.
Kwastek K. Aesthetics of Interaction in Digital Art. Cambridge (MA): MIT Press, 2023. 288 p.
Manovich L. Cultural Analytics. Cambridge (MA): MIT Press, 2021.
Mackenzie A. Machine Learners: Archeology of a Data Practice. Cambridge (MA): MIT Press, 2021. 312 p.
Panofsky E. Meaning in the Visual Arts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1955.
Parisi L. Contagious Architecture: Computation, Aesthetics, and Space. Cambridge (MA): MIT Press, 2019. 376 p.
Schapiro M. The Nature of Abstract Art. New York: George Braziller, 1994.
Schapiro M. Theory and Philosophy of Art: Style, Artist, and Society. New York: George Braziller, 1994.
Wölfflin H. Principles of Art History: The Problem of the Development of Style in Later Art, translated by P. S. G. Murphy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984.
Алексеева И. Ю. Человеческое знание и его компьютерный образ. Рос. АН, Ин-т философии. Москва: ИФРАН, 1993. 215 с.
Амосов Н. М. Моделирование сложных систем. Киев: Наукова Думка, 1968. 88 с.
Амосов Н. М. Автоматы и разумное поведение. Опыт моделирования. Киев: Наукова Думка, 1973. 375 с.
Аристотель. Этика. Политика. Риторика. Поэтика. Категории. Минск: Литература, 1998. С. 1064–1112.
Гройс Б. Искусство как биография: трансформация творчества и культурных практик. СПб.: Академический проект, 2016. 128 с.
Закс Л.А. К исследованию феномена художественной реальности // Художественная реальность: сб. науч. тр. Свердловск: УрГУ, 1985. С. 47–59.
Кант И. Критика способности суждения / пер. с нем.; вступ. статья и комм. А. В. Гулыги. Москва: Искусство, 1994. 365 с.
Кудин П. А., Ломов Б. Ф. Использование средств технической эстетики для повышения эффективности операций приема и передачи информации человеком. ЛГУ, 1965. С. 125–143.
Сигида Д. А. Основные подходы исследования искусства в теоретической культурологии // Аналитика культурологии. 2012. № 3 (24). С. 84–87.
Соловьева Л. Н., Соловьев В. В. Человек и искусственный интеллект: на пути к постантропологическому будущему // Общество: философия, история, культура. 2023. № 11. С. 126–132.
Хренов Н. А. Искусство в ситуации культурологического поворота: методологические поиски: монография. М.: Канон+ РООИ «Реабилитация», 2024. 624 с.
REFERENCES
Alekseeva, I. Yu. (1993). Chelovecheskoe znanie i ego komp'iuternyi obraz [Human knowledge and its computer image]. Moscow: IFRAN. (In Russ.)
Amosov, N. M. (1968). Modelirovanie slozhnykh sistem [Modeling of complex systems]. Kiev: Naukova Dumka. (in Russ.)
Amosov, N. M. (Ed.). (1973). Avtomaty i razumnoe povedenie. Opyt modelirovaniya [Automata and rational behavior: Modeling experience]. Kiev: Naukova Dumka. (In Russ.)
Aristotle. (1998). Ethics, politics, rhetoric, poetics, categories (pp. 1064–1112). Minsk: Literatura.
Bloom, H. (1973). The anxiety of influence: A theory of poetry. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Groys, B. (2016). Iskusstvo kak biografiya: transformatsiya tvorchestva i kul'turnykh praktik [Art as biography: Transformation of creativity and cultural practices]. St. Petersburg: Akademicheskii Proekt. (In Russ.)
Hayles, N. K. (1999). How we became posthuman: Virtual bodies in cybernetics, literature, and informatics (p. 150). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Hayles, N. K. (2017). Unthought: The power of the cognitive nonconscious (p. 132). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Kant, I. (1994). Kritika sposobnosti suzhdeniya [Critique of the power of judgment] (A. V. Gulyga, Trans. & Ed.). Moscow: Iskusstvo. (Original work published 1790) (In Russ.)
Khrenov, N. A. (2024). Iskusstvo v situatsii kul'turologicheskogo povorota: metodologicheskie poisky [Art in the situation of the culturological turn: Methodological searches] [Monograph]. Moscow: Kanon+ ROOI “Reabilitatsiya.” (In Russ.)
Kudin, P. A., & Lomov, B. F. (1965). Ispol'zovanie sredstv tekhnicheskoi estetiki dlya povysheniya effektivnosti operatsii priema i peredachi informatsii chelovekom [Use of technical aesthetics tools to increase efficiency of human information reception and transmission operations]. LGU, 125–143. (In Russ.)
Kwastek, K. (2023). Aesthetics of interaction in digital art. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Manovich, L. (2021). Cultural analytics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Mackenzie, A. (2021). Machine learners: Archeology of a data practice. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Panofsky, E. (1955). Meaning in the visual arts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Parisi, L. (2019). Contagious architecture: Computation, aesthetics, and space. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Schapiro, M. (1994a). The nature of abstract art. New York: George Braziller.
Schapiro, M. (1994b). Theory and philosophy of art: Style, artist, and society. New York: George Braziller.
Sigida, D. A. (2012). Osnovnye podkhody issledovaniya iskusstva v teoreticheskoi kul'turologii [Main approaches to art research in theoretical culturology]. Analitika Kul'turologii, 3(24), 84–87. (In Russ.)
Solovyeva, L. N., & Solovyov, V. V. (2023). Chelovek i iskusstvennyi intellekt: na puti k postantropologicheskomu budushchemu [Human and artificial intelligence: On the way to the post-anthropological future]. Obshchestvo: Filosofiya, Istoriya, Kul'tura, 11, 126–132. (In Russ.)
Wölfflin, H. (1984). Principles of art history: The problem of the development of style in later art (P. S. G. Murphy, Trans.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1915)
Zaks, L. A. (1985). K issledovaniyu fenomena khudozhestvennoi real'nosti [On the study of the phenomenon of artistic reality]. In Khudozhestvennaya real'nost': sbornik nauchnykh trudov [Artistic reality: Collection of scientific papers] (pp. 47–59). Sverdlovsk: Ural State University. (In Russ.)