AI has Imagination, Imagination has AI

As many others I am thoughtfully observing discussions around the creative capabilities of AI, especially to what extent it can simulate imagination to generate something novel. Many discussions circle around questions such as if AI will have or already has human-like creative capabilities, what distinguishes humans from machines and if imagination is the last human capability that will be replaced. I think most of these discussions are misleading because they all emerge from the assumption that imagination is something that one has. But what if imagination is nothing to have and rather something that has us? What if imagination is less a power or capability, and more a structure that organizes mental possibility horizons across actors? That would mean imagination exists, evolves and materializes across living and non-living systems. Humans do not produce imaginations, imaginations produce humans and then humans reproduce imaginations. Through imagination novel possibilities can emerge, but within an existing imaginary container that dominates the outcome. That means imagination is as much a capability as it is a configuration. From that perspective on imagination, AI not just has imagination, imagination also has AI. Existing imagination structures define the input and thereby structure the outcome AI produces. AI is subjected by imagination structures and co-evolves in entanglement. So the fundamentally important question here is not if AI has human-like imaginative capabilities or not, it is to what extent AI systems reproduce problematic imaginations and thereby stabilize existing conditions. Leaving such reproduction loops is extremely difficult. It requires deep reflection and inner strength to consciously navigate what to reproduce and what not. In times where the biggest issue we face is the inability to leave existing paths, it is fundamentally important to build systems that do not naively reproduce and behave according to dominant imagination structures. But that is exactly the direction of current developments. We are stuck in imagination loops and AI is only accelerating this. I think this is the kind of discussion we should increasingly have.

Jun 12, 2025