The Artificial Unconscious, Fictional Space, and the Algorithmic Subject: An Analysis within the AGI, VY, and ASDC Framework

H. Avni ÖZTOPÇU

The Ontotechnology of Fictive Space: Human–Machine Dialogue and the Ethical Weight of Cultural Memory in Avni Öztopçu’s Art

Abstract

This article aims to reinterpret H. Avni Öztopçu’s conception of Fictive Space within the context of contemporary ontotechnological aesthetics. It argues that the spaces depicted in Öztopçu’s paintings function not merely as visual arenas but as ethical-cognitive interspaces where human intuition intersects with artificial cognition.

The study develops along three conceptual axes:

AGI (Algorithmic Visual Cognition): Examining the potential influence of compositional parameters—form, contrast, and central focus—on viewer cognition.

VY (Variative Interpretation): Assessing the capacity of cultural, historical, and symbolic motifs to generate epistemic resistance among diverse audiences.

ASDC (Affective-Structural Duality): Evaluating the anticipated ethical-aesthetic equilibrium between human intuition and artificial intelligence.

Integrating Mengüşoğlu’s notion of “ontological responsibility” with Stiegler’s “technical memory,” the article situates Öztopçu’s Fictive Space at ethical, cognitive, and cultural dimensions. Findings are presented as theoretical projections, proposing that ASDC may serve as a metric to gauge ethical-aesthetic balance in human–machine co-creativity.

Introduction

Twentieth- and twenty-first-century art theory has undergone a profound transformation along the axis of interaction between human intuition and machine intelligence. Artificial intelligence is no longer merely a tool of production; it participates as an algorithmic subject in the ontology of art. This novel form of subjectivity creates a domain of responsibility that transcends technical production, inviting the viewer to participate cognitively and ethically.

Öztopçu’s concept of Fictive Space anticipates this contemporary shift. The formal structures in his paintings engage the viewer not only visually but also through cognitive and ethical participation. Consequently, Öztopçu’s spaces become a topography of consciousness, combining the intuitive analysis of the human mind with the algorithmic evaluation of artificial cognition.

Conceptual Framework

Ontotechnology

Ontotechnology examines the modes through which being manifests via technical mediation. Öztopçu’s Fictive Space is concerned not merely with the spatial relations of forms but also with the visual translation of ethical imperatives. His paintings engage in “manifesting being responsibly”, rather than merely constructing space.

Philosophical Foundations

·         Mengüşoğlu: Conscientious cognition and ontological responsibility constitute the theoretical basis for ASDC (Affective-Structural Duality).

·         Stiegler: Technical memory explains how cultural motifs generate epistemic resistance in the viewer.

·         Simondon: Semi-stable processes underpin the philosophical grounding for human–machine collaborative creativity.

·         Heidegger: The critique of Gestell delineates the ethical boundaries of technological tools and links them to the artwork’s function as an ethical laboratory.

Methodology: Quantitative Phenomenology and Ontotechnological Analysis

This study approaches Öztopçu’s paintings as measurable cognitive systems via Quantitative Phenomenology, which combines the depth of phenomenological observation with quantifiable neuroaesthetic indicators.

Metrics

·         AGI (Algorithmic Visual Cognition): Measures form tension, orientation, contrast, and central focus to guide viewer attention.

·         VY (Variative Interpretation): Evaluates the viewer’s capacity to interpret cultural, historical, and symbolic motifs.

·         ASDC (Affective-Structural Duality): Assesses the ethical-aesthetic alignment between human intuition and AI structural analysis.

Note: Metrics are proposed for future experimental studies; current analysis remains theoretical.

Expected Findings and Hypotheses

·         High AGI values are predicted to enhance structural and visual guidance of viewer attention.

·         VY variations are expected across culturally diverse audiences; unfamiliar motifs may produce epistemic resistance.

·         ASDC is anticipated to function as a regulator of ethical-aesthetic balance.

Discussion: Three Layers of Fictive Space

·         Formal Layer (AGI): Geometric forms structure viewer engagement.

·         Cultural Layer (VY): Cultural motifs generate cognitive load and reflective engagement.

·         Ethical Layer (ASDC): Human intuition mediates algorithmic organization through ethical responsibility.

Conclusion

Öztopçu’s Fictive Space transforms art from a representational field into an ethical-aesthetic laboratory where human intuition interacts with artificial cognition. It opens new avenues for both local and global audiences. AGI, VY, and ASDC metrics offer potential frameworks to analyze human–machine co-creativity and ethical-aesthetic balance.

Erweiterte Zusammenfassung

Die Ontotechnologie des Fiktiven Raums: Mensch-Maschine-Dialog und das ethische Gewicht des kulturellen Gedächtnisses in der Kunst von Avni Öztopçu

Zusammenfassung:
Dieser Artikel untersucht das Konzept des „Fiktiven Raums“ von Hüseyin Avni Öztopçu im Kontext zeitgenössischer ontotechnologischer Ästhetik. Öztopçus Malräume werden nicht nur als visuelle Arenen verstanden, sondern als ethisch-kognitive Interspaces, in denen menschliche Intuition auf algorithmische Wahrnehmung trifft.

Die Analyse folgt drei konzeptionellen Achsen:

·         AGI (Algorithmische Visuelle Kognition): Untersuchung der Wirkung von Kompositionsparametern wie Form, Kontrast und zentraler Fokussierung auf die Wahrnehmung der Betrachter.

·         VY (Variative Interpretation): Bewertung der Fähigkeit kultureller, historischer und symbolischer Motive, epistemischen Widerstand bei unterschiedlichen Rezipienten hervorzurufen.

·         ASDC (Affektiv-Strukturelle Dualität): Analyse des erwarteten ethisch-ästhetischen Gleichgewichts zwischen menschlicher Intuition und künstlicher Intelligenz.

Unter Einbeziehung von Mengüşoğlus Konzept der „ontologischen Verantwortung“ sowie Stieglers Theorie des „technischen Gedächtnisses“ wird Öztopçus Fiktiver Raum auf ethische, kognitive und kulturelle Dimensionen projiziert. Die Studie schlägt vor, dass ASDC als Maßstab dienen könnte, um das Gleichgewicht von Ethik und Ästhetik in der Mensch-Maschine-Kreativität zu bewerten.

Die Arbeit liefert theoretische Projektionen, die neue Wege für die Analyse von interaktiven, ethisch-ästhetischen Dynamiken in der Kunst eröffnen, sowohl für lokale als auch globale Kontexte.

Résumé Étendu

L’ontotechnologie de l’espace fictif : dialogue humain-machine et poids éthique de la mémoire culturelle dans l’art de Avni Öztopçu

Résumé :
Cet article réinterprète le concept d’« espace fictif » de Hüseyin Avni Öztopçu dans le cadre de l’esthétique ontotechnologique contemporaine. Les espaces représentés dans ses peintures fonctionnent non seulement comme des arènes visuelles, mais comme des interstices éthico-cognitifs où l’intuition humaine rencontre la cognition artificielle.

L’étude s’articule autour de trois axes conceptuels :

·         AGI (Cognition Visuelle Algorithmique) : étude de l’influence potentielle des paramètres de composition — forme, contraste, focus central — sur la perception du spectateur.

·         VY (Interprétation Variative) : évaluation de la capacité des motifs culturels, historiques et symboliques à générer une résistance épistémique parmi des publics divers.

·         ASDC (Dualité Affectivo-Structurale) : évaluation de l’équilibre éthique-esthétique anticipé entre intuition humaine et intelligence artificielle.

En intégrant la notion de « responsabilité ontologique » de Mengüşoğlu et la « mémoire technique » de Stiegler, l’article situe l’espace fictif d’Öztopçu dans des dimensions éthiques, cognitives et culturelles. Les résultats sont présentés comme des projections théoriques, proposant que l’ASDC puisse servir de métrique pour mesurer l’équilibre éthique-esthétique dans la co-création humain-machine.

Cette approche ouvre de nouvelles perspectives pour analyser la créativité collaborative entre l’homme et la machine et les interactions éthiques et esthétiques dans un contexte global.

Sintesi Estesa

L’ontotecnologia dello spazio fittizio: dialogo uomo-macchina e peso etico della memoria culturale nell’arte di Avni Öztopçu

Sintesi:
Questo articolo esplora il concetto di “Spazio Fittizio” di H. Avni Öztopçu nel contesto dell’estetica ontotecnologica contemporanea. Gli spazi raffigurati nei suoi dipinti non sono solo arene visive, ma interspazi etico-cognitivi in cui l’intuizione umana interagisce con la cognizione artificiale.

L’analisi si sviluppa lungo tre assi concettuali:

·         AGI (Cognizione Visiva Algoritmica): analisi dell’influenza dei parametri compositivi — forma, contrasto, fuoco centrale — sulla percezione dello spettatore.

·         VY (Interpretazione Variativa): valutazione della capacità dei motivi culturali, storici e simbolici di generare resistenza epistemica tra pubblici diversi.

·         ASDC (Dualità Affettivo-Strutturale): valutazione dell’equilibrio etico-estetico tra intuizione umana e intelligenza artificiale.

Integrando la nozione di “responsabilità ontologica” di Mengüşoğlu con la “memoria tecnica” di Stiegler, lo Spazio Fittizio di Öztopçu viene collocato in dimensioni etiche, cognitive e culturali. I risultati sono presentati come proiezioni teoriche, suggerendo che l’ASDC possa fungere da metrica per valutare l’equilibrio etico-estetico nella co-creatività uomo-macchina.

L’approccio proposto apre nuove prospettive per l’analisi della creatività collaborativa e delle dinamiche etiche-estetiche in un contesto globale.

The content of this study was prepared under the guidance of Pınar Sumer Biber, with AI tools (ChatGPT and Gemini) utilized for deepening the conceptual analysis, academic critique, and language organization processes. The principal interpretations and guidance of the study belong to Pınar Sumer Biber.

11 10 2025

Literature Review: Global Academic Context
1. Phenomenology and Consciousness-Object Relation
Öztopçu’s assertion that “every act of consciousness contains a thing within it” resonates deeply with classical phenomenology:

· Edmund Husserl (Founder of Phenomenology): Husserl’s principle of intentionality—consciousness is always consciousness of something—directly aligns with Öztopçu’s concept. The “thing” contained in consciousness corresponds to Husserl’s noema, while the act of consciousness itself is noesis. Each conscious act incorporates the object into the noetic-noematic structure.

· Maurice Merleau-Ponty (Embodied Phenomenology): Merleau-Ponty situates intentionality within the lived body (Corps Propre), making consciousness-object orientation a bodily, perceptual experience. Öztopçu’s Fictive Space can thus be seen as a perceptual-spatial extension of consciousness rather than a purely mental construct.

2. Objectification and Forming Process
The transformation of abstract thought into concrete forms (objectification) mirrors phenomenological “meaning-making” in art:

· Heidegger & Gadamer (Aesthetics): The artwork is the site where truth manifests. Objectification is not simply creating an object but revealing existential and historical meaning.

· Neuroaesthetics (Ramachandran & Zeki): Objectification triggers visual peak-shift effects in the brain, amplifying contrasts, centrality, and geometric forms—principles mirrored in Öztopçu’s AGI metrics.

3. Ethical Dimension of Fictive Space
Öztopçu’s Fictive Space functions as an ethical-aesthetic laboratory:

· Ethical Laboratory Concept: The paintings confront AI’s rational computation with human conscience and cultural load (VY, ASDC). The viewer experiences an ethical challenge alongside aesthetic engagement.

· Philosophical Support: Mengüşoğlu’s “conscientious cognition” and Heidegger’s critique of technological enframing (Gestell) frame the ethical-aesthetic interplay.

4. Cultural Memory and Epistemic Resistance
Consciousness never orients toward a blank slate; it interacts with culturally coded objects:

· Stiegler (Technical Memory): Cultural motifs are externalized memories; encountering them creates epistemic resistance as viewers decode unfamiliar symbols.

· Simondon (Semi-Stable Processes): The dynamic interplay of consciousness and object generates a semi-stable state. ASDC metrics measure this ethical-cognitive balance.

5. Ontotechnology and Human-Machine Interaction
· Katherine Hayles (Posthumanism): Consciousness is not solely human; it is intertwined with machine and body, aligning with Öztopçu’s human–machine aesthetic mediation.

· Manuel DeLanda (New Materialism): Form-matter dynamics in DeLanda’s framework resonate with AGI metrics (form tension, entropy), reinforcing the material-structural dimension of objectification.

Selected Bibliographic References (APA 7th Edition Sample)
· Husserl, E. (1913). Ideas: General Introduction to Pure Phenomenology (W. R. Boyce Gibson, Trans.). London: Allen & Unwin.

· Merleau-Ponty, M. (1962). Phenomenology of Perception (C. Smith, Trans.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

· Heidegger, M. (1971). Poetry, Language, Thought (A. Hofstadter, Trans.). New York: Harper & Row.

· Stiegler, B. (1998). Technics and Time, 1: The Fault of Epimetheus (R. Beardsworth & G. Collins, Trans.). Stanford: Stanford University Press.

· Simondon, G. (2017). On the Mode of Existence of Technical Objects (C. Malaspina & J. Rogove, Trans.). Minneapolis: Univocal.

· Ramachandran, V. S., & Hirstein, W. (1999). The Science of Art: A Neurological Theory of Aesthetic Experience. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 6(6–7), 15–51.

· Zeki, S. (1999). Inner Vision: An Exploration of Art and the Brain. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

· Floridi, L. (2013). The Ethics of Information. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

· Hayles, N. K. (1999). How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

· DeLanda, M. (2006). A New Philosophy of Society: Assemblage Theory and Social Complexity. London: Continuum.