AI, the Lacanian Real, and Ordinary Psychosis: Slavoj Žižek’s New Two-Part Essay
In this new two-part text, Slavoj Žižek says the rapid expansion of digital media and artificial intelligence offers a fresh way to rethink the Lacanian Real. He argues that the Real is often described in contradictory ways, but these versions are connected by an underlying movement: the Real can appear as a void, a leftover that resists symbolisation, a formal structure without meaning, a terrifying Thing, a barrier, or a fantasy grounding the subject. Rather than treating these as separate definitions, Žižek frames them as different moments of the same logic. His point is that the Real is not something simply lost or hidden; it is what remains after symbolisation, what cannot be eliminated, and what continues to return in different forms.
AI and digital media as a new lens on the Real
Žižek introduces the text as an attempt to explain how the explosion of digital media has given new relevance to the Lacanian notion of the Real, especially in relation to artificial intelligence.
The Real as a shifting, contradictory concept
He reviews the many ways the Real has been described: as a symbolic void, a remainder that resists meaning, a formal language without content, a terrifying Thing, a prohibition, or a foundational fantasy.
The Real as an immanent movement
Rather than separating these meanings into categories, Žižek emphasizes the movement between them. One form of the Real can mutate into another, showing that the concept changes as it reaches its extreme.
What cannot be eliminated
The core idea is that the Real is not simply something lost. It is the remainder of symbolisation, the part that cannot be removed and keeps returning in the symbolic order.
Key takeaways
- Žižek connects artificial intelligence and digital media to a renewed reading of the Lacanian Real.
- The Real is presented as a dynamic concept with multiple, related forms rather than a fixed definition.
- A central theme is the remainder: what resists symbolisation and cannot be fully gotten rid of.
- The essay frames the Real as something that persists within and after symbolic processes.
Source: Slavoj Žižek, “AI 1: FROM THE PSYCHOTIC REAL TO ORDINARY PSYCHOSIS,” published on https://slavoj.substack.com/p/ai-1-from-the-psychotic-real-to-ordinary (2026-10-03T14:00:40.000Z). Read the original post on Substack.