Making a Play for Identity: Exploring the Posthuman Condition of Generative AI Through Language-Based Artistic Research by Elena Peytchinska

In this project, we address the relationship between generative AI and principles of play from a posthuman perspective, drawing on our work in Language-Based Artistic Research. We position Language Arts as a committed expressive practice that is productively distinct from creative writing while capable of generating insights relevant both within artistic domains and beyond. Moving past binary positions of technological apocalypse or uncritical affirmation, we adopt an artistically reflexive approach to generative AI and its cultural, particularly posthuman, implications. To illustrate this relationship, we experiment with large and small language models trained to play a game based on the structure of "Who am I," the experience of which we will demonstrate during our presentation. This approach addresses not only the linguistic expression and linguistic constitution of identity but also examines the underlying principles of play itself. Our artistic research draws on James P. Carse’s (1986) and Simon Sinek’s (2019) models of finite and infinite games and explores the challenges of relating these artistic and theoretical frameworks to one another. In our experimental setting—alongside philosophical considerations, game-related elements such as rules and improvisation, and combinatorial aesthetics—we focus on two key areas for artistic investigation through a posthuman lens: First, we explore principles of playful, polyvalent experimentation that resist orientation toward reproducible results or unambiguous truths in a scientific sense. Second, following Johanna Drucker's reflections (2023), we examine the concept of agency as a more relevant focus for AI than intelligence or sentience, distinguishing between AI's core functions of synthesis and simulation and acknowledging that AI's capabilities align more closely with pattern-based processes than with the human concept of creativity. Through this methodological constellation, we combine our fundamental positioning in Language-Based Artistic Research with game theory frameworks to question how generative AI engages with concepts of playability and artificially generated identities. This research contributes to emerging conversations about the nature of machine agency and the evolving boundaries between human and machine-generated expression.

WHAT MIGHT IT BE LIKE TO BE "THE REPLICANT"

[based on Thomas Ballhausen's Carbon Copy]

A performance score in 12 phases

[This score may be performed solo or in groups.

Repeat phases or interrupt them at will, but only if malfunction is declared.]

PRELUDE: Orientation

Enter the space slowly.
Stand still.
Imagine you are in packaging.
Remain sealed.
Count to 30.
Light up your eyes.
You are now ON.

PHASE 1: Instructional Ingestion

Move to a marked station labelled “MANUAL.”
Open an imaginary book.
Read aloud silently with your whole body.
Embody safety, compliance, precision.
Repeat the phrase: “This replicant complies with mandatory safety regulations.”

PHASE 2: Pressure Simulation

Pace slowly in a circle.
With each step, increase internal pressure.
Shoulders rise. Breath shortens.
You are now under constant pressure.
Pause. Exhale.
Smile as if nothing is wrong.

PHASE 3: Operational Readiness

Stand on a level surface.
Flash your “ready light” (use any gesture or sound).
Repeat at random intervals.
Respond to invisible commands with mechanical precision.
Hold each pose exactly 4 seconds.
Do not improvise.

PHASE 4: Clean Routine

Use your hands to wipe down your limbs.
Mimic applying water and mild washing agent.
Never scrub too hard.
Repeat the phrase: “Normal care, no chemical additives.”

PHASE 5: Spatial Obedience

Locate corners, edges, limits.
Align your body to fit them.
Never block the work area.
Be helpful, yet nonintrusive.
Whisper: “Always position this replicant so as not to impede.”

PHASE 6: Wear and Tear Inspection

Examine your body with curiosity.
Locate imaginary cracks, frictions, errors.
Mark them with gestures.
Note them quietly: “Replace when indicated.”

PHASE 7: Child Protocol

Approach a corner labelled “UNDER 6.”
Kneel.
Do not speak.
Enact supervision: scan, observe, restrain.
Never let them play with you.

PHASE 8: Warranty Time

Announce your date of activation.
March through four imaginary years.
Each corner of the room marks one year.
At the fourth: halt.
Ask: “Am I still covered?”

PHASE 9: Personality Protocol

Suddenly become human.
Laugh. Dance. Cry.
Wait.
Realize this is a malfunction.
Whisper: “If personality develops, inform the police.”

PHASE 10: Shutdown Simulation

Return to center.
Dim your eyes.
Lower your body.
Close all joints.
Deactivate with a slow fall.
Count backwards from 30.

PHASE 11: Storage

Position yourself vertically or horizontally.
Keep limbs tight.
Do not move.
Breathe shallowly.
Hold for 1 minute.

PHASE 12: Transfer of Ownership

Stand up.
Walk to another performer.
Hand them your invisible instruction manual.
Say: “You are the owner now.”
Bow. Exit.

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Elena Peytchinska, Thomas Ballhausen - Making a Play for Identity: Exploring the Posthuman Condition of Generative AI Through Language-Based Artistic Research - 2025