Finding Joy in Artificial Experience

ABSTRACT The rise of generative AI necessitates a sociological re‐evaluation of trust, the concept of virtuality, and meta‐critical joy. Both generative AI and imaginative literature create virtuality which can be theorized as artificial experiences. The challenges presented by AI are anthropological rather than merely technological. The current AI hype obscures corporate mismanagement while framing education as a joyless, transactional process. As a solution, this essay proposes the development of intellectual pleasure. By reframing human relationships with technology, educators and students can prioritize the affective processes of discovery and community‐oriented storytelling. This essay advocates for reclaiming the classroom as a site of intellectual well‐being, where the artificial, but not contrived, nature of learning becomes a pathway to genuine human connection.