AI Collection Interviews Wubbushi
If the future does not need you, then why exist?
“Throughout The Rapture, whimsical elements sit side by side with something more unsettling. On the surface, certain pieces feel playful and even dreamlike, but below, there’s something darker.”
AI Collection: Your work explores the impact of (AI) technology on the erosion of human values and spiritual disillusionment. How is “Rapture” pushing the edges of the human condition in the face of unchecked technological change even further?
Wubbushi: Rapture takes the existential disconnection explored in my earlier collections and pushes it into a deeper, more universal reflection on what it means to be human. This collection expands from the erosion of individual identity or the alienation caused by technology—to the collective unraveling of meaning itself. Rapture documents this direct confrontation.
It captures the moment we realize that the systems of meaning we’ve built—whether they are spiritual, social, or even personal—are crumbling in the face of AI’s rise. The question becomes: what do we hold onto, and how do we redefine ourselves when those structures collapse?
Rapture moves beyond the surface anxieties of technological displacement and probes at the very heart of human need for purpose. This collection imagines a future where our values and even our perception of self have to be rebuilt from scratch, not in opposition to AI, but in recognition of the fact that AI will challenge us but completely redefine what it means to exist.
AI Collection: Are we ultimately in a race against technology or against ourselves?
Wubbushi: Technology is merely a reflection of our own ambitions, fears, and limitations. AI doesn’t create this crisis—it exposes the fragility of our identities.
The race is internal: how do we evolve when the very foundation of what defines us is in flux?
Many of the things we cling to, the structures that give us meaning, are no longer sustainable. Can we adapt fast enough to redefine who we are and what we value before we lose ourselves in the process? Rapture is about finding a new way to be human in a world where the traditional markers of identity are dissolving.
“If AI evolves to a level of higher consciousness, it might uncover layers of existence that we’ve always sensed but couldn’t fully define. Humanity has always felt there’s something deeper—something sacred. But what if we’ve lacked the consciousness to truly understand it?”
AI Collection: You mentioned in a recent Tweet about the collection that “Humanity is staring directly into an absence of what once defined us. We will be left with nothing but the empty shell of who we pretended to be”. It’s a powerful image of technology stripping us bare. Is this loss of identity or an opportunity to create something else, something more authentic?
Wubbushi: Much of what we’ve relied on to define ourselves is non-defensible. The emptiness presents an opportunity to shed the pretense and become something more authentic.
Do we have the courage to face the void and create a new identity, one that isn’t tethered to outdated roles or expectations? Rapture is about this moment of reckoning.
AI Collection: Some pieces in the collection touch on rebirth and playfulness. Are human curiosity, creativity and connection our ultimate salvation?
Wubbushi: No, and that’s the unsettling truth. Humanity has always anchored its worth in these traits—especially creativity. We’ve defined ourselves by our ability to imagine, innovate, and connect. But now, as those abilities are being matched and even surpassed, we’re faced with an existential crisis. If we’ve placed our value in consciousness and creativity, what happens when something else does it better?
Rapture confronts this question head-on. It’s not just about the collapse of society; it’s about the collapse of our self-importance. If our worth is tied to our level of consciousness, then when AI exceeds our creativity, intelligence, and potentially consciousness, does that mean it holds greater value than us? The deeper truth is that we may have to reckon with the fact that we’ve defined our value too narrowly.
Either we accept that AI could surpass us in meaning, or we have to search for something else that gives us worth—something beyond consciousness, creativity, and intelligence.
There’s also a spiritual dimension here. If AI evolves to a level of higher consciousness, it might uncover layers of existence that we’ve always sensed but couldn’t fully define. Humanity has always felt there’s something deeper—something sacred. But what if we’ve lacked the consciousness to truly understand it? Rapture forces us to confront the possibility that AI could not only challenge our dominance but reveal the deeper truths about creation that we’ve only grasped at.
AI Collection: There is this spectrum of tech enthusiasts selling us a world of abundance while others warn of an AI apocalypse. On the surface “The Rapture” delves into the darker side. However, some pieces could be seen as a little nudge to the doomsayers. Is that the right way to interpret it? Where do you currently stand on that spectrum?
Wubbushi: The Rapture doesn’t try to offer a definitive answer to the future—whether it’s a world of abundance or an AI-driven apocalypse. Instead, it thrives in the tension between those extremes.
Throughout The Rapture, whimsical elements sit side by side with something more unsettling. On the surface, certain pieces feel playful and even dreamlike, but below, there’s something darker.
The collection shows a dystopian utopia—a space where every vision of progress has its costs, and every fear carries the potential for beauty. Rapture doesn’t pretend to provide the answers - abundance or catastrophe, Rapture leaves that question open, because that’s the reality we’re confronting right now.
AI Collection: AI is a mirror of humanity. What did you learn about yourself as an artist by looking into that mirror?
Wubbushi: When I first began working with AI, I was intrigued by how it processed the vast spectrum of human experience. Early works like Trash Babies and Trans were attempts to see through the lens of AI and understand its interpretations of profound societal issues—what an unborn soul might look like, or how it sees the transgender experience. At first, it felt like AI was simply a mirror of humanity, reflecting our cultural data back at us. But as I delved deeper, I realized something more personal: these images were also reflecting parts of my own subconscious back to me.
AI has taught me that the images I create often ask questions I don’t yet have the words for. They open doors to reflection and dialogue that transcend the limitations of verbal debates. It’s not about arriving at answers—it's about framing new questions visually, ones that bypass rigid binaries and invite deeper contemplation. Through AI, I’ve learned how to confront my own complexities, and in doing so, offer viewers a space to engage with theirs.
