Project Description
The Meaning of Life. Happiness. ChatGPT-4o. 2025
Artificial Intelligence. ChatGPT-4o. Laser Projector. Sound
Infinite Loop
2025
(Excerpt)
Dimensions variable
This work is composed of 1 laser display
The Meaning of Life is an artistic work in which a laser display projects eleven texts generated by artificial intelligence. These texts attempt to answer our most fundamental questions: the meaning of life, happiness, consciousness, mortality, infinity, God…
Like philosophy, AI offers no fixed truth. Its answers evolve with each update (GPT-4, GPT-5, GPT-6…), shaped by its time, its data, and its own technical capacities. What AI asserts today may be contradicted tomorrow. It becomes a metaphor for the human quest for meaning: unstable, infinite, in perpetual recomposition.
The Meaning of Life follows in the tradition of Conceptual Art. Here, meaning is neither given nor permanent. It emerges from the moment and the perception of each viewer. The work enters into dialogue with “One and Three Chairs” by Joseph Kosuth, which questions the very nature of knowledge, and “Today” by On Kawara, where time becomes both subject and material.
The pursuit of happiness has long been considered the central purpose of human life, but is it truly the ultimate goal? In an era marked by technological advancements, economic inequalities, and shifting cultural values, this question remains as pressing as ever.
Aristotle famously argued that happiness (eudaimonia) is the highest good, stating, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” For him, happiness was not merely about pleasure but about a life of virtue, wisdom, and fulfillment. To Aristotle, true happiness was an ongoing process, cultivated through good character and meaningful relationships.
However, Friedrich Nietzsche challenged this view, arguing that the pursuit of happiness alone was a shallow and uninspiring goal. He wrote, “Man does not strive for happiness; only the Englishman does that.” Instead, Nietzsche believed that life’s true purpose was the pursuit of power, growth, and self-overcoming—what he called the will to power. He saw struggle, challenge, and even suffering as necessary for the fullest realization of human potential. In today’s world, where comfort and convenience often dominate our aspirations, Nietzsche’s perspective raises a thought-provoking question: Is a life of ease truly fulfilling?
La quête du bonheur a longtemps été considérée comme le but ultime de l’existence humaine, mais est-ce réellement le sommet de notre destinée ? À une époque marquée par les avancées technologiques, les inégalités économiques et l’évolution des valeurs culturelles, cette question reste d’actualité.
Aristote affirmait que le bonheur (eudaimonia) est le bien suprême, déclarant : « Le bonheur est le sens et le but de la vie, le but ultime et la finalité de l’existence humaine. » Pour lui, le bonheur ne se limitait pas au plaisir, mais impliquait une vie de vertu, de sagesse et d’accomplissement. Le véritable bonheur, selon Aristote, était un processus continu, nourri par le développement du caractère et des relations significatives.
Friedrich Nietzsche, en revanche, contestait cette vision et considérait que la recherche exclusive du bonheur était un objectif superficiel et sans ambition. Il écrivait : « L’homme ne cherche pas le bonheur ; seul l’Anglais le fait. » Pour Nietzsche, le véritable but de la vie était la recherche de la puissance, du dépassement de soi, ce qu’il appelait la volonté de puissance. Il voyait dans la lutte, les défis et même la souffrance des éléments essentiels à la pleine réalisation du potentiel humain. Dans notre monde moderne, où le confort et la facilité dictent souvent nos aspirations, la perspective de Nietzsche pose une question troublante : une vie d’aisance est-elle réellement satisfaisante ?