Photo: “Chimera” by Marta Timmer, Sotheby’s
The “hallucinations” of artificial intelligence and glitch art are emblematic symptoms of the algorithmic era. They inspire interpretations that transcend any single cultural or philosophical framework. While Western Science, Technology and Society (STS) theories and poststructuralism excel at analyzing the social construction of technology and the power of symbols, they often remain confined within the human-centered realms of language and institutional critique. Eastern philosophical traditions, particularly Buddhist notions of dependent origination and Daoist conceptions of nature, offer profound cosmological and cognitive resources for understanding non-anthropocentric technological ontology and epistemic uncertainty. This initiates a dialogue that weaves these two intellectual currents together, illuminating overlooked dimensions in the generative mechanisms of digital reality.
In the Western epistemological context, AI hallucinations exacerbate the representation crisis introduced by Immanuel Kant. The “realities” produced by models are symbolically constructed without any ontological guarantee, revealing humanity’s growing dependence on opaque, statistical intermediaries. This “postmodern condition” reaches its apex in Baudrillard’s theory of simulacra, where hallucinations become hyperreal symbols more real than reality itself, self-referential within a pure circuit of symbolic exchange.
Buddhist philosophy, particularly the Madhyamaka notion of śūnyatā (emptiness) and dependent origination, adds another lens of interpretation. AI models can be seen as complex “dependent” systems, whose outputs (effects) rely entirely on countless conditions (causes), including training data, algorithmic architecture, and parameter settings. What we call “hallucinations” are temporary manifestations arising under specific conditions, lacking any independent or inherent self-nature. The model clings to patterns and correlations in its training data, generating narratives that appear determinate but are in fact groundless—akin to sentient beings’ mistaken belief in self-nature arising from dependent phenomena. Thus, hallucinations are not merely errors to be corrected; they reveal that all algorithmic knowledge is fundamentally conditional and empty of inherent essence, compelling us to question the supposed absoluteness of “truth” produced by technological systems.
Glitch art centers on using digital or analog errors colloquially referenced as glitches, for art purposes. In Western critical theory, glitch art is often interpreted as resistance to technological rationality and the aesthetics of perfected capitalism. By producing noise and exposing the material underlying layers of systems, it enacts a “negative aesthetics,” reminiscent of Adorno’s idea that dissonance can reveal the false harmony of a whole.
Daoist and Zen perspectives offer an alternative pathway for understanding glitch art. Parables in Zhuangzi, such as the master chef carving an ox or a wheelwright shaping wheels, depict how artisans, through prolonged practice, integrate tools with bodily awareness to reach a level where “the Way advances through technique.” The practice of glitch artists can be seen as a digital-era echo of this: they are not opponents of technology, but through deep immersion and intentional “interference,” they engage subtly with software, hardware, and even error itself, glimpsing the “texture” and “cracks” of technological systems. This practice recognizes that qi (tools) and Dao (the underlying principles of natural operation) are not separate. Glitches, as the “impermanent” and “extraordinary” states of technology, may provide an opportunity to apprehend the essence of technological objects, and even to perceive the uncontrollable “nature” behind the system.
Zen aesthetics of imperfection directly confer positive value on glitches. Incompleteness, impermanence, and asymmetry are regarded as the essence of the world and are aesthetically elevated. A distorted image caused by data errors or fragmented sounds generated from buffer overflow, from this perspective, is not a defect to be removed, but the manifestation of the world as it is, evidence of a technological system participating in the cosmic rhythm of arising, abiding, decaying, and ceasing. Glitch art thus becomes a form of practice, training the observer to relinquish attachment to digital perfection and seamless experience, and to discover beauty and truth in impermanence and imperfection.
Science, Technology, and Society (STS) emphasizes the social construction of technology: how technologies are shaped by social forces and in turn reshape society. This Western perspective can form a rich, complementary tension with the Eastern notion of dependent origination. “Social construction” highlights the human-centered “conditions” of institutions, interests, and discourse, while dependent origination describes a broader, non-anthropocentric network of interdependent causes, encompassing materiality, algorithms, environment, and all conditions.
AI systems are the product of both social conditions and material or technical conditions. Their hallucinations reflect both socially embedded biases in datasets (effects of social construction) and the inevitable emergence of uncertainty as algorithms traverse vast webs of data-conditions (manifestations of dependent origination). Glitch art, as a social practice, is simultaneously a critique of specific technological-political economies (interventions at the social construction level) and an aesthetic apprehension of technology’s impermanence and emptiness (reflection at the dependent origination level).
What AI hallucinations and glitch art reveal goes beyond technical flaws or artistic innovation. Together, they point to a fundamental insight: in an era where algorithms increasingly mediate human cognition and perception, the pursuit of absolute certainty, perfect control, and seamless representation is not only epistemologically illusory but may also impoverish our ethical and aesthetic sensibilities.
The wisdom of emptiness and impermanence in Eastern philosophy does not lead to nihilism; rather, it lays the foundation for an ethics and aesthetics that embrace uncertainty, appreciate imperfection, and maintain humility and vigilance within the network of dependent origination. This calls for a reconception of human-technology coexistence: technology should no longer be seen merely as a perfect instrument to fulfill human intentions, but as a “dependent partner” participating in the co-construction of reality, inherently subject to flux and generative potential. Vigilance toward hallucinations and creative acceptance of glitches may become crucial starting points for critical reflection and creative practice within this new relational paradigm. In this sense, cross-philosophical reflection not only provides understanding, but also gestures toward a possible shift in modes of being.
