Tentacular Writing: Artificial Intelligence, Linguistic Capitalism, Sympoiesis, and Poetry

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article investigates the intersection of artificial intelligence, linguistic capitalism, and poetry, analyzing how symbolic regimes are transformed by new technologies. Drawing on Jean Baudrillard and Bernard Stiegler, we will discuss the influence of AI and Machine Learning on language production and circulation, leading to a “semiotic impoverishment” and the restriction of discursive diversity by algorithmic systems. We will also examine a poem by Charles Bernstein generated by AI that imitates his style, reflecting on the impacts of automation on writing. As a response, “tentacular writing” is proposed, inspired by Donna Haraway’s concept of sympoiesis, as a form of poetic resistance and non-hierarchical collective creation. Thus, the article problematizes the relationship between technology, language, and power, suggesting creative and political alternatives for writing in times of automation and digital surveillance.