Towards a Hauntology of Generative AI | Klaus Speidel

What counts as art when AI is involved? How are AI-generated images connected to (or haunted by) the real world? And what are the ecological, ethical, and social impacts of these systems?

In this talk, award-winning philosopher, curator, and art critic, Klaus Speidel, explores these questions through the lens of hauntology: the idea that the present is shaped by what no longer exists. He asks how AI can be embedded in artistic processes rather than treated as a shortcut, how to reduce the ecological impact of models, and how bias and inequities are reproduced in AI outputs. His conclusion: we urgently need a hauntology of generative AI to rethink the way these systems shape culture and creativity.