VISUAL SIMULACRES AND HYPERREALITY IN DIGITAL CULTURE

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to give a cultural interpretation of the evolution of visual simulacrum and hyperreality in
modern digital culture and to show the interconnectedness of AI simulacra and AR/VR in a new type of hyperreality.
Research methodology is based on a critical analysis of the literature on the topic, general scientific principles and
methods (inductive-deductive, analytical-synthetic, comparative) and synthesizes cultural reflection with semiotic,
phenomenological and hermeneutic approaches and elements of Media studies and case analysis.
Results. It has been found that visual AI-simulacra represent an agentic form of simulation, AR/VR – a spatialexperiential
form of hyperreality, together they form a hyperreality, based not on imitation, but on the construction of experience. In it, the simulacrum ceases to be a «sign without a referent» and becomes an infrastructural element of digital culture, determining the ways of seeing (i. e. visuality), presence and self-construction of the subject. Digital culture has changed the interpretation and existential status of visual simulacrum and hyperreality: they are not just theoretical concepts, but the only living reality that defines the face of the present, while simultaneously expanding the horizons of our experience, generating new risks and putting forward new demands for understanding a reality that is increasingly algorithmically composed of signs, images and models, that is, of what we ourselves have created and believed in. Novelty lies in discovering the coherent relationship between the evolving status of the visual simulacrum and changing types of hyperreality in digital culture and in substantiating the fundamental functional equivalence of AIsimulacra and AR/VR in the creation and maintenance of hyperreality of a new type, which can be conditionally called «experiential».
Practical significance. The results obtained allow us to move from a descriptive analysis of digital culture to its critical forecasting and cultural modeling: it is reasonable to choose digital educational technologies for specific pedagogical tasks, carry out cultural expertise, and design responsible digital environments.