Human imagination and generative AI: A phenomenological perspective on design in MR environments

Abstract

The paper examines a phenomenological approach to generative AI in MR environments, focusing on its role in supporting human imagination. Drawing on Husserl’s theories, it explores how AI supports phantasy through eidetic variation, producing digital objects that, while distinct from analogue ones, are fully real within an analogue-digital continuum. The study highlights a bi-directional and re- cursive exchange where AI externalizes imagination, merging human intentionality with machine-generated alternatives.