Enchantment and the Gimmick: Pleasure and Doubt in AI Image Aesthetics

Summary

Aesthetics is not only concerned with how the world is sensed, but also with how we make sense of our senses. The manipulation of attention, the surveillance of behaviour, the redirection of belief and the inflammation of desire all use aesthetics as a kind of magical enchantment in service to the promises of capital. Cultural theorist Sianne Ngai finds the gimmick to be one of the key expressions of aesthetic judgement within capitalism. To call something a gimmick is obviously a response with negative connotations. At some level, magical forces outside of human understanding are absolutely part of the fascination with AI. This is not a matter of knowing the algorithmic processes or not; it is an aesthetic valuation. The enchantments of AI images are related to previous moments of magical thinking, and it is important to acknowledge this if a subversion of their influence is to be explored.