Diffractive trace and Quantum hauntology: Philosophical foundations for a posthuman critique of AI from Derrida and Barad

Abstract

This article develops a philosophical reflection through the intersection of Jacques Derrida’s concept of différance and Karen Barad’s notion of intraaction, with the aim of constructing a relational, non-representational onto-epistemological framework. Through a diffractive reading, it explores key notions such as trace, spectrality, agency, materiality, and performativity, proposing a critical reconfiguration of concepts like identity, meaning, and presence. Rather than establishing a synthesis between Derrida and Barad, the text outlines a field of resonances from which to rethink contemporary phenomena. In its final section, these issues are brought into dialogue with certain logics underlying artificial intelligence, which are analyzed as spectral and generative phenomena where the boundaries between data, subject, and algorithm become blurred. The article does not offer a definitive diagnosis but suggests a posthuman orientation for future critiques of AI, grounded in an ontology of the trace and relationality.