Speculations on the Synthetic #
This keynote talk by M. Beatrice Fazi considers generative artificial intelligence (AI) to present some speculations on the synthetic. The computational productions of generative AI are often called “synthetic” to imply that they are artificial artifacts achieved via manufactured manipulations. Against that denotative association of the synthetic with the artificial, Fazi argues for a different understanding of the concept of synthesis, approaching it philosophically to highlight the unifying character of anything synthetic. The talk proposes that synthesis in generative AI is a search for unity that is fundamental to the making of a representational reality. Fazi addresses the possibility of considering, speculatively, this representational whole. The talk thus shows that developing the philosophical concept of synthesis in relation to today’s generative AI involves examining how structuring occurs in these computational systems. Such development also requires being attentive to the speculative avenues that these technologies open up for the philosophy of computation.