The Illusion of Thinking is a book about the overlooked implications of artificial intelligence and its assumed capacity to think and reason. It includes contributions by Flavia Dzodan, Nora O’Murchú, and Florian Weigl, and interviews with Constant Dullaart, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Femke Herregraven, and Dirk Paesmans (ID.ACCO).

About the book

The texts address topics like algorithmic decision-making, surveillance, digital infrastructures, and the role of images and interfaces in organising perception and power. The Illusion of Thinking argues that though AI often suggests genuine cognition, it primarily mirrors human ideas through recall and imitation, while raising fundamental questions about the nature of understanding.

About the exhibition

This publication is related to the exhibition at V2_, which reflected on the value systems and myths surrounding technological innovation — and what might be lost in the ongoing drive for efficiency. The artists challenged dominant narratives of technological progress and the pursuit of sentient intelligence. Their works examined the limits of optimization, the complexity of learning, and the infrastructural conditions that shape AI’s development. These works are listed below:

Constant Dullaart: Accepting the Job
ID.ACCO (Dirk Paesmans)
Femke Herregraven: The Murmur of the Dying
Flavia Dzodan: Absence / Longing / Saturation
Evelina Rajca: Sleep Transducer
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Global Level of Confidence: Argentina

Paperback, published in 2025, 120 pages.