Artificial Intelligence and Visual Culture: Algorithmic Aesthetics, Image Creation and Governance

2026-03-14

Guest Editors

Dr Juan Pablo Mateos Abarca, Complutense University of Madrid
Dr Bárbara Caffarel Rodríguez, Rey Juan Carlos University
Dr Javier Sedano Rodríguez, Complutense University of Madrid

The emergence of artificial intelligence within visual culture is profoundly reshaping the ways in which images are produced, distributed and perceived. This special issue focuses on the processes taking place at the intersection between artificial intelligence and contemporary digital culture, with particular attention to the emergence of algorithmic aesthetics, to new forms of creative production, and to the challenges posed by the governance of images generated by automated systems.

In a context where algorithms and deep learning models play a decisive role in global visual circulation, it has become increasingly urgent to examine the ethical, political and aesthetic implications of these technologies. What modes of seeing are consolidated when images are generated, selected and prioritised by artificial intelligence? What role remains for the human author within an increasingly automated visual culture? How are rights, ownership and responsibility negotiated when images are composed from vast training datasets?

This special issue seeks contributions that approach artificial intelligence not merely as a tool, but as a site of interaction between technologies, creative practices, cultural discourses and regulatory frameworks. The issue will explore how artificial intelligence is transforming the production, circulation and meaning of images in contemporary digital culture, proposing a critical framework through which to understand the tensions and opportunities emerging around algorithmic aesthetics, visual creation and the regulation of images in the twenty-first century.

Proposed Topics