The Phygital World: The Role of Imagination in the Development of Artificial Intelligence

The article researches the new reality emerging at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds and the role played by the human imagination in this process. Artificial intelligence, based on deep learning, is becoming one of the principal creators of this reality. In this regard, the problems of AI creativity, the nature of imagination and the subjectivity of artificial systems are being articulated. The authors focus on the central role of human imagination in the design and training of AI, enabling it to expand the horizons of traditional algorithmic thinking through the application of machine learning, natural language recognition abilities, and the creation of artistic and emotional images. The authors highlight the special role of AI in constructing images of the future, based on philosophical ideas about imagination, emphasising its importance as a bridge between the sensual and the rational, its ability to create meanings and transform experience. The article also notes that, despite significant advances in simulating imagination and creativity, AI remains a tool driven by logical algorithms without the implementation of emotional intelligence and self-awareness. This raises questions about the limits of machine creativity.