“The Conquest of Ubiquity” a Century Later: Valéry in the Age of AI
Art is in the Air. AI art “In all the arts there is a physical component which can no longer be considered or treated as it used to be (...). We must expect great innovations to transform the entire technique of the arts, thereby affecting artistic invention itself and perhaps even bringing about an amazing change in our very notion of art.” —Paul Valéry Abstract In 1928, Paul Valéry anticipated in La conquête de l’ubiquité a radical transformation of the material conditions of art, driven by the technical advances of his time. Almost one hundred years later, his intuitions strongly resonate in the age of artificial intelligence, where digital reproduction, global circulation, and algorithmic creation present new challenges and opportunities for art. This article revisits Valéry’s essay in light of contemporary technological developments, exploring the relevance of his diagnoses and their pertinence for understanding today’s aesthetics. Introduction In Pièces sur...