Searching for Digital Agency: Subject Possibilities in the Aesthetics of Computational Ambiguity

Background: The overdetermination of the subject in digital cultures, particularly as it relates to processes of dividuation, introduces various tensions and complications. The reduction of subjectivity to data sets for use in predictive algorithms has been linked to the manipulation, marginalization, and harmful production of subjectivity. This situation raises questions about how to challenge or redirect the axiomatic logics of computing. Analysis: This article explores the potential of the aesthetics of computational ambiguity as a resource for expanding agency within the processes of dividuation. Conclusions and implications: This potential is demonstrated by artists exploring the ambiguities of glitch aesthetics, machine learning indeterminacies, and the randomization of computational outputs.