DEUS EX MACHINA
无神之谕

Installation Design
Individual Project
2026

近年来，人工智能技术迅速发展，并逐渐渗透到日常生活的各个层面。从 Siri、Alexa 等智能语音助手手，到 ChatGPT 等大型语言模型，人们越来越多地借助 AI 进行决策、寻求情感支持以及获取知识。根据皮尤研究中心的一项调查，超过 60% 的年轻用户曾向 AI 工具寻求个人建议，尤其是在情感关系与职业规划等方面。这一趋势意味着，AI 已不再仅仅被视为一种技术工具，而正在逐渐成为人们寻求心理慰藉、建立价值判断的重要媒介。

这一现象在“数字原住民”群体中尤为明显。在过去，人们往往通过宗教仪式、占卜或祈祷来寻求智慧、指引与精神慰藉；而今天，AI 正在某种程度上承担类似的角色。Campbell（2010）在其“宗教—社会技术塑造理论”（Religious-Social Shaping of Technology, RSST）中指出，技术本身并不天然具有宗教属性，但可以通过群体的接受、适应以及文化层面的重新诠释，被赋予某种“准宗教性”的意义。AI 的兴起生动地体现了这一过程——当人们在面对不确定性时开始向 AI 寻求答案和指引，一种微妙的信任与权威转移也随之发生。

基于这一研究，我创作了互动装置 DEUS EX MACHINA，试图将这种正在形成的“信仰转移”过程具象化。通过将提问、等待与获得答案转化为具有仪式感的身体行为，作品试图揭示：当人们面对 AI 时，如何在互动过程中主动将信任、判断甚至某种权威投射到人工智能之上。

In recent years, artificial intelligence has developed rapidly and become increasingly integrated into our everyday lives. From voice assistants such as Siri and Alexa to large language models like ChatGPT, people are increasingly turning to AI for decision-making, emotional support, and information. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, more than 60% of young users have asked AI tools for personal advice, particularly about relationships and career choices. This suggests that AI is no longer seen simply as a technological tool. It is gradually becoming a source of reassurance, guidance, and even personal values.

This shift is especially noticeable among digital natives. In the past, people often turned to religious rituals, divination, or prayer for wisdom, guidance, and spiritual comfort. Today, AI is beginning to play a similar role in some aspects of our lives. Campbell’s (2010) Religious-Social Shaping of Technology (RSST) theory suggests that technology is not inherently religious. Instead, it can take on quasi-religious meanings through social acceptance, adaptation, and cultural reinterpretation. The rise of AI reflects this process: when people turn to AI for answers and guidance in moments of uncertainty, a subtle transfer of trust and authority begins to take place.

Building on this research, I created the interactive installation DEUS EX MACHINA to explore and visualize this emerging transfer of belief. By turning the process of asking a question, waiting, and receiving an answer into a ritual-like physical experience, the installation examines how people may begin to place their trust, judgement, and even a sense of authority in AI through their interactions with it.

装置的互动机制借鉴了东方传统的求签仪式：参与者首先投入一枚代币，随后双手合十，并向 AI 提出自己的问题；AI 则根据问题生成回答，并将其打印成一张实体签纸交给参与者。整个过程模拟了传统仪式中“向神明求问”的体验。通过将提问、等待与获得答案转化为具有仪式感的身体行为，作品试图揭示：当人们面对 AI 时，如何在互动过程中主动将信任、判断甚至某种权威投射到人工智能之上。

The installation draws inspiration from the structure of the traditional Eastern Kau Chim (divination) ritual. Participants insert a token, clasp their hands, and pose a question to the AI. The AI then generates a printed response on a physical ticket. This process mirrors the ritualistic experience of “consulting the divine,” revealing how users project trust and authority onto AI through embodied interaction.

DEUS EX MACHINA
无神之谕

Installation Design
Individual Project
2026

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