The Body That Knows: Performance, Embodied Cognition, and Human Creativity in an Age of Artificial Intelligence
Angelo Romagnoli, Pierluigi Sacco
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the performing arts are a paradigm case for dimensions of human meaning-making that current AI architectures do not replicate, attributing this to a lack of involvement rather than technical limitation. Contends this contrast illuminates whether phenomenal understanding requires dynamic, self-organising embodiment, and proposes that performer-trained capacities may transfer to human-AI collaboration, with a research agenda for testing this. |
Abstract
The rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence renews fundamental questions about human creativity and what distinguishes it from its artificial generation. This paper argues that the performing arts constitute a paradigm case for understanding dimensions of human meaningmaking that current AI architectures do not replicate, not due to technical limitations but to involvement. We argue that this structural contrast sheds light on a core issue in the philosophy of mind: whether phenomenal understanding requires the kind of dynamic, self-organising embodiment that characterises living systems, or whether it can be realised in any functionally equivalent computational substrate. These capacities are cultivated through training, and performer pedagogy offers developed methodologies for their development. We examine how embodied knowledge becomes articulate, propose that performer-trained capacities may transfer to human-AI collaboration, and outline a research agenda for testing this hypothesis.