This paper critically re-examines "Digital Nature," a concept that has proliferated across various domains over the last ten years. By "Digital Nature," we refer to an evolving view of nature as a dynamic process of circulating computation and matter, one that extends into the realms of AI, XR, indigenous perspectives, and post-human theory. Despite its popularity, "Digital Nature" remains ambiguously defined. This paper provides a genealogical and philosophical survey of how the idea has emerged, diverged, and overlapped in media art, bio-art, and generative art, alongside relevant Eastern, Islamic, and indigenous worldviews. We then introduce a multi-axis framework (from real/virtual to anthropocentric/object-oriented, with sub-axes of enchantment and materialization), illustrating how digital technologies have reconceptualized the question "What is nature?" in unexpected ways. Finally, we discuss how the field might evolve, particularly through the lens of large language models, AGI, and "supernatural reality," while highlighting the ethical and political pitfalls of techno-occultism. Our ultimate goal is to re-situate "Digital Nature" as both an intellectual frontier and a collaborative platform that invites continuous dialogue between art, science, technology, and cultural philosophies.
翻译:本文批判性地重新审视了‘数字自然’这一在过去十年间广泛传播的概念。所谓‘数字自然’,我们指的是一种将自然视为计算与物质循环动态过程的演化观点,其范畴延伸至人工智能、扩展现实、原住民视角及后人类理论领域。尽管该概念备受关注,‘数字自然’的定义仍显模糊。本文通过谱系学与哲学视角,系统梳理了该理念在媒体艺术、生物艺术与生成艺术中的兴起、分化与交融,并关联东方、伊斯兰及原住民世界观进行探讨。进而,我们提出一个多轴分析框架(从真实/虚拟到人类中心/对象导向,辅以‘灵性化’与‘物质化’子轴),阐释数字技术如何以意想不到的方式重构‘何为自然’这一命题。最后,我们探讨该领域可能的发展方向,特别是通过大语言模型、通用人工智能及‘超自然现实’的视角,同时指出技术神秘主义潜在的伦理与政治风险。我们的最终目标是将‘数字自然’重新定位为一个既具学术前沿性、又促进艺术、科学、技术及文化哲学持续对话的协作平台。