Voices of VR #1690: Asking Philosophical Questions on AI in “The Oracle: Ritual for the Future” with Poetic Immersive Performance
Dec 7, 2025
Victorine van Alphen, a director and philosopher specializing in immersive experiences, shares her insights on blending technology and art. She explores the evolution of her project, The Oracle: Ritual for the Future, discussing themes of vulnerability and transition. Victorine delves into post-humanity, using AI to critique its biases, and emphasizes the importance of ethics in immersive storytelling. With a focus on creating emotional journeys and fostering post-show reflections, she ignites discussions on the potential of immersive rituals and the future of our bodily experiences.
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Emotion-First Rituals Reveal Ambiguity
- Victorine frames the piece as an emotional, ritualistic exploration of our relationship to AI, not a clear polemic for or against it.
- She uses ambiguity, dream logic, and embodied sensation to provoke reflection rather than deliver conclusions.
Motherhood Shaped The Oracle's Arc
- Victorine became a mother mid‑project and used that life change to reframe the show's themes around deep time, vulnerability, and transition.
- She juxtaposes birth, death, and future nonhuman sensuality to make letting go tangible.
Experimenting Exposed 'Effortless Diversity' Flaws
- Victorine deliberately 'burned her hands' on biased apps and found superficial 'effortless diversity' tools that worsen representation problems.
- Experimenting revealed biased outputs and helped her expose their ethical failures in the artwork.