Lures of Engagement: An Outlook on Tactical AI Art

A new academic paper titled 'Lures of Engagement: An Outlook on Tactical AI Art' by researcher Dejan Grba was published on the arXiv preprint server (identifier arXiv:2602.20221). The 17-page work, submitted in February 2026, aims to diversify critical discourse by introducing fresh perspectives on the poetic, expressive, and ethical features of tactical media art involving artificial intelligence. It systematically explores how AI artists effectively critique the epistemic, phenomenological, and political aspects of AI science and technology, positioning their work within three representative thematic areas: sociocultural, existential, and political dimensions of our computational age.

The paper examines specific artistic works that exemplify poetic complexity and manifest the ambiguities indicative of contemporary art, culture, economy, and society. Grba argues that tactical AI art provides vital insights into the AI-influenced world, with the potential to direct computational arts toward a more socially responsible and epistemologically relevant expressive stratum. The closing sections summarize major issues in the field and outline possible directions to tackle challenges and advance tactical AI art as a critical practice. This research contributes to the growing body of work presented at venues like the Tenth Conference on Computation, Communication, Aesthetics & X (2022), bridging technical AI development with essential humanistic critique.