The myth of meaning
Generative AI as language-endowed machines and the machinic essence of the human being
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4769813 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Claudio Paolucci (0000-0003-3038-5266, 9296 Università di Bologna , Bologna , Italy, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 2025 |
| Issue | 262 |
| Pages | 5-23 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-29 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Semiotica (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0037-1998 • E-ISSN: 1613-3692 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1515/sem-2024-0204 |
| OpenAlex | W4407711758 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 8 |
This article explores the intersection of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and human cognition through semiotics, proposing that generative AI offers a lens through which the essence of human being is revealed and through which semiotic enunciation and meaning can be radically reevaluated. Drawing on semiotic, philosophical, and neurodevelopmental frameworks, it argues that generative AI, as exemplified by language-endowed systems like ChatGPT and others, challenges traditional notions of meaning, subjectivity, and intelligence. By tracing the evolution of enunciation theories and their application to AI, the paper asserts that these machines reveal a machinic essence intrinsic to human beings - our reliance on external cognitive aids and hybridization with the environment that makes us "natural-born cyborgs." Indeed AI, far from merely simulating intelligence, exposes the limits of human-centric models of meaning and the myths underlying our conceptualization of cognition and language
Cognitive science · Epistemology · Generative grammar · Linguistics · Meaning (existential) · Mythology · Semiotics · Sociology · Theology · Action Observation and Synchronization · Embodied and Extended Cognition · Language and cultural evolution · Philosophy · Psychology
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |