Fractured consciousness

One cognitive function that seems to keep the mind very busy is the task of narration. Our brains are extremely skilled at finding plausible narratives in any given situation, no matter how seemingly disjointed or chaotic, creating cohesion from the fragments of consciousness and reason. The mind will wrap itself around a set of disparate events and find causal relationships where probably none exist. It will verify an already established world-view, interpreting events in such a way as to reaffirm prejudices and justifications. The stories we tell ourselves and others and how they are reinforced and gain power through technologies is a fascination that underpins my work as an artist. My works are saturated in both storytelling and narrative. This article considers the relationship between synthetic intelligence and narrative, looking at how my work as an artist has been influenced by the findings and propositions, particularly in relation to consciousness, of neuroscientists including Chris Frith, Paul Fletcher and Anil Seth.