With the rapid emergence and application of new technologies across various fields, tech art is increasingly characterized by interdisciplinary integration. It continuously explores new media, raises novel questions, and develops new forms and languages. Tech art not only embodies the unique value of art in the era of emerging technologies but also contributes more interactive and diversified value to human knowledge production, fostering dialogue and collaboration among different disciplines.

Technology empowering artistic innovation

In recent years, data technology and artificial intelligence have sparked new creative trends in the field of tech art and have given rise to new modes of human-machine collaboration.

Digital art represents a comprehensive transformation not only of physical media but also of sensory modes, inspiring audiences to engage with a digitalized reality. Works leveraging big data technology extract vast amounts of information—often invisible, yet constantly shifting and flowing—and transform it into powerful artistic expressions. These works are not merely audiovisual symbolic representations; they employ algorithms to further digitize and virtualize encoded artistic media, exposing the organizational force, structural dynamics, and symbolic cultural meaning embedded within the data.

Based on artists’ prompts, generative AI can create works that closely approximate human styles. Many artists have built databases of their own works and created digital avatars to experiment with automated artwork generation. Others have collaborated with computer scientists and engineers, integrating intelligent art with robotics to develop “machine artists” or even “humanoid artists.”

With advanced technologies at their disposal, artists can create beyond the limits of individual experience and enjoy greater creative freedom. Furthermore, intelligent tools are also being applied to art restoration, the adaptation of classic works, and art education. It is foreseeable that future artistic creation will increasingly employ intelligent tools, driving the advancement of creative instruments, moving beyond traditional artistic boundaries, and reshaping both the production modes and social function of art. This, in turn, could provoke deeper debate on post-humanism.

Technology and art enriching each other

Interdisciplinary collaboration is a core paradigm in tech art. Creators who embody both artistic and engineering roles transform technology from a mere tool into an alternative language for artistic expression and reflection. Technology provides novel media for artistic creation and expands the expressive potential of art, while the emotional element of artistic creation infuses technology with humanistic warmth, enabling multidimensional reflection on meaning and value. While emerging technologies are applied in artistic creation, the experiences offered by tech art present more imaginative technological scenarios that, in turn, can drive technological progress and innovation.

Research on tech art often exhibits a strong practical orientation, adopting experimental methods to test the applicability of new technologies in artistic creation while continuously challenging established artistic concepts. The study of high-tech artwork is no longer limited to conventional creative interpretation—it retrospectively examines the technological elements and pathways involved, while also considering possible applications and future impacts.

Tech art imbued with public relevance and social value

The inherent public nature of technology imbues tech art with social significance, reshaping the interaction between art and the public. Increasingly, artists and technologists are collaborating through tech art to help enhance public scientific literacy. No longer confined to galleries, works of tech art engage directly with social realities, offering diverse and innovative representations of public issues that raise widespread concern. Through extensive cross-media dialogue, they encourage audiences to reflect on sociotechnological issues and spur social change.

The increasing interactivity of tech art makes audiences integral to the construction of meaning. Their emotional feedback and actions translate into new artistic experiences that complement the artist’s intent. In this way, artwork serves to facilitate communication, enhance social cohesion, and reinforce cultural identity.

Multi-agent co-creation in tech art also facilitates cross-border exchanges in technological and artistic domains. Creators from different countries and regions share creative tools enhanced by technological advances while incorporating ideas and experiences from diverse cultural backgrounds. This endows their works with an international perspective and enables them to achieve cross-cultural influence through universal artistic expressions.

Yang Junlei is a professor from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Fudan University.