# created ```dataview LIST WITHOUT ID file.link FROM -"windsurf" WHERE file.cday = date(this.file.name) AND !startswith(file.folder, "windsurf") SORT file.cday ASC ``` # modified ```dataview LIST WITHOUT ID file.link FROM -"windsurf" WHERE file.mday = date(this.file.name) AND !startswith(file.folder, "windsurf") SORT file.mday ASC ``` --- # [[diary and thoughts]] #thought #diary --- # papers ## [[Beauty in Use]] (Ergo, forthcoming) ### with [[Enrico Terrone]] This paper argues that existing aesthetic theories of design, which focus primarily on perceptual properties, fail to capture "[[invisible design]]"—well-[[designed objects]] whose excellence lies in how they feel to use rather than how they look. You critique both Parsons and Carlson's "[[Functional Beauty]]" and tactile extensions of it, showing they cannot account for the [[aesthetic pleasure]] of seamless interaction with objects like well-designed keyboards or interfaces. Drawing on Montero's work on [[aesthetic effortlessness]] and proprioception, you develop an account centered on how objects facilitate experiences of virtuosity or skillful mastery in their users. ## The Psychedelic Image (in _Art, Aesthetics and Psychedelics_, ed. Hans Maes, [[Oxford University Press]], forthcoming) ### with [[Enrico Terrone]] This paper develops a novel framework for understanding [[psychedelic aesthetics]] by modeling it on pictorial aesthetics, arguing that both pictures and psychedelics generate distinctive perception-like experiences that can be appreciated for their scenes and for their "design-scene" properties. Using [[predictive processing]] theory, you explain how psychedelics "relax" the brain's priors (fundamental assumptions about reality), creating experiences that violate ordinary perceptual constraints—similar to how pictures present scenes detached from egocentric space. You argue that psychedelics make perceptual processes themselves partially "opaque," allowing appreciation of how perception is constructed, thus supporting both scene-oriented and design-oriented [[aesthetic appreciation]]. ## Aesthetics and Engineering (in Accompanying Aesthetics. Going Along Philosophy of Art Towards Other Disciplines, eds. Zoltan Somhegyi & Max Ryynänen, Bloomsbury, forthcoming) ### with [[Enrico Terrone]] This paper distinguishes between utensils (passive artifacts requiring continuous [[user input]]) and machines (artifacts with autonomous principles of activity governed by engineering laws), arguing that machines merit a distinct aesthetic framework. You critique existing functional aesthetic theories for focusing on static form rather than dynamic functioning, then propose that the aesthetic appreciation of machines involves perceiving their "dance with nature"—the harmonious way engineered systems engage with fundamental physical laws. Drawing on predictive processing and Carlson's environmental aesthetics, you argue that appreciating machines requires knowledge of engineering principles that render visible how designs successfully harness natural forces. ## Growing the Image: Generative AI and the Medium of Gardening (The Philosophical Quarterly, 2025) ### with Enrico Terrone This paper proposes that Midjourney should be understood neither as an autonomous agent nor as a mere tool, but as a new type of artistic medium characterized by "dynamic recalcitrance." Drawing on the distinction between natura naturans (nature's active processes) and natura naturata (nature's products), you introduce the concept of "machina naturans" to describe how generative AI systems exhibit autonomous, unpredictable behavior similar to natural processes. You argue that creating with Midjourney resembles gardening—users can influence but not fully control outcomes—and that this incomplete control constitutes a legitimate form of artistic practice with its own aesthetic qualities. ## Scrivere poesia con GPT4: la sfida di scolpire versi con l’IA (2024) Agenda Digitale [https://www.agendadigitale.eu/cultura-digitale/scrivere-poesia-con-gpt4-la-sfida-di-scolpire-versi-con-lia/](https://www.agendadigitale.eu/cultura-digitale/scrivere-poesia-con-gpt4-la-sfida-di-scolpire-versi-con-lia/) ### with Enrico Terrone and Marcello Frixione This paper challenges the assumption that AI-generated poetry lacks artistic merit by introducing the concept of "recalcitranza" (recalcitrance) as applied to AI systems. You argue that while GPT-4 presents different challenges than traditional poetic media, it operates as a "Machina Naturans"—an unpredictable, dynamic system analogous to nature itself. Just as gardeners work with the autonomous forces of "Natura Naturans," AI poets must skillfully navigate GPT-4's inherent unpredictability through prompt crafting and iterative refinement, thereby engaging in genuine artistic creation that requires expertise and aesthetic sensibility. In progress: - the environmental aesthetics of generative ai - virtual reality - generating philosophy with ai - AI and propaganda ## selected presentations - asa and bsa - invited talks? ## teaching - Philosophy of technology ## organisational stuff - contributing to the organisation of various conferences -