Transforming performance subjectivity under generative AI: On the authenticity and simulacra of virtual performance
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Abstract
The continuous evolution of digital technology has driven a profound transformation in the performing arts. As a technology-driven artistic form, virtual performance is reshaping the logic of subjectivity and authenticity within performance practice. Drawing on Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra theory as its analytical framework, this article examines the problem of authenticity in virtual performance and the underlying logic that sustains it. By analyzing the stage-by-stage development of virtual performance, the study explores how it becomes detached from the physical body, reconstructs human emotions and behaviours through algorithms and symbolic systems, and challenges the authenticity paradigm of traditional performance. The findings indicate that the evolution of virtual performance has progressively shifted from mimetic representation to autonomous symbolic production. Its logic of authenticity no longer depends on physical reproduction; rather, it is constituted through a dynamic “two-way mapping relationship” enabled by technological re-encoding and the self-referential operation of symbolic systems. Although virtual performance expands the boundaries of artistic expression, excessive reliance on simulacral generation may result in the erosion of experiential reality and the hollowing out of artistic authenticity. Furthermore, while generative AI endows virtual performances with the capacity for ‘self-programming’, it simultaneously intensifies the tension between technological rationality and humanistic values. Accordingly, this study advocates the development of an interdisciplinary theoretical framework, the optimization of integrative pathways between technology and the humanities, and the reconstruction of an evaluative system for audience authenticity grounded in perceptual, cognitive, and affective dimensions. It emphasizes that the sustainable reconstruction of artistic authenticity can be achieved only through a critical balance between technological innovation and humanistic reflection.
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