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De-semantising Semantics

4/4/2024, 12:18:25 PM | Jeanyoon Choi

Original Notes (Pre-LLM)

The picture showing Philippe Parreno's exhibition in leeum but the contents does not have direct association, just got it because i got inspiration while i was in the exhibition, listening to the delta-a talking random words

We’re living in the age of semantics, everything is semantical,and AI is even creating more semantics - remember how many dummy-semantical texts LLMs are generating per day. This attempt: De-semantising semantics can act as doctrine for this semantic-prision

Thee is a text…. Idk some kind of very serious, semantical text. Can be academical text. Can be philosophical reasoning… And on the main display it is read in a very serious/semantical manner

But once the text is arrived at the word ‘껍데기' for example… let’s say the script was ‘빈 껍데기만 남을 뿐이었다'.... The word ‘껍데기's signifiant is transferred into different signifié → 돼지껍데기, for example. So the image of 돼지껍데기 appears in another screen. So on and so forth….

For example let’s refer to this notoriously famous and semantical ‘Je pense, donc je suis’ by Descartes

Accordingly, seeing that our senses sometimes deceive us, I was willing to suppose that there existed nothing really such as they presented to us; And because some men err in reasoning, and fall into Paralogisms, even on the simplest matters of Geometry, I, convinced that I was as open to error as any other, rejected as false all the reasonings I had hitherto taken for Demonstrations; And finally, when I considered that the very same thoughts (presentations) which we experience when awake may also be experienced when we are asleep, while there is at that time not one of them true, I supposed that all the objects (presentations) that had ever entered into my mind when awake, had in them no more truth than the illusions of my dreams. But immediately upon this I observed that, whilst I thus wished to think that all was false, it was absolutely necessary that I, who thus thought, should be something; And as I observed that this truth, I think, therefore I am,[c] was so certain and of such evidence that no ground of doubt, however extravagant, could be alleged by the Sceptics capable of shaking it, I concluded that I might, without scruple, accept it as the first principle of the philosophy of which I was in search.

Accordingly (Accordian), seeing (Eyes) that (Arrow) our (Symphony of anthem) senses (Five senses - need five monitors) sometimes (Sample from famous k-pop song) deceive us….

Need a lots of multi channels

Some extent it will be automised ai will look for other semantics -> De-semantising semantics

Actually this is not the first attemp I think Hito steyerl did something with wikipedia-style hypertext (I don’t know what exactly was, chatgpt can you give reference when this was)

So it’s actually combining lots of different audio-visual samples and people are not really awared of what the original text is almost 흡사 as 아무말대잔치 but it started actually from the very semantical text… Isn’t it the irony of the world but also how the brain works and how human is humane… hypertext thinking! Hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! Hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!!

Hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!! hyper hyper hyper hyper hyper !!!!!!

English Version (LLM-Generated)

This discourse is primarily inspired by a Philippe Parreno's exhibition held at the Leeum Museum of Art. It explores the intersection of art and technology, with a particular emphasis on semantics, the linguistic and philosophical study of meaning.

We find ourselves living in a semantic era, where everything has a particular meaning or purpose. Arguably, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is contributing to our increased reliance on semantics. Indeed, it is estimated that Language Learning Models (LLMs) are producing thousands of semantically-weighted texts every day. In this context, I propose a de-sematizing semantics doctrine as an antidote to an over-reliance on semantics.

Consider a serious, academic text filled with complex philosophical reasoning. At several points in the text, the word ‘껍데기' is used. This concept, translated as 'pigskin' in English, is conveyed both verbally and visually on a separate screen in an attempt to transfer the signifiant into a different signifié.

Descartes famously said "Je pense, donc je suis", which is a high point of semantic reasoning. However, what if we substitute some of the key terms he used with mundane or out-of-context terminologies? Consider the semantic transformation brought about by replacing “Accordingly” with “Accordion”, “seeing” with “Eyes” and “senses” with “Five senses”.

This exercise suggests a need for a multifaceted approach and multiple channels to interpret a text. To some extent, automation will be required to manage other semantics; to remove the extra layers of semantics added by AI, thus desematizing semantics.

References to such practices are not entirely new. Hito Steyerl has previously performed a similar exercise with wikipedia-style hypertext. The exercise may start from a highly semantical text, yet in the final analysis, the original text may be unrecognizable.

The end result is the extensive use of various audio-visual elements that most viewers wouldn’t link with the original text. There is a profound irony in this approach, but it is also illustrative of how the brain works and what it is to be human. This approach also underscores the use of hypertext thinking, which is found throughout this discourse.

In sum, this semiotic approach towards the interpretation and transformation of textual meaning reflects our increasingly interconnected and hyperlinked world. The seemingly endless repetition of the term "Hyper" in this context serves to emphasize and perhaps recreate the speed and information overload that characterizes our contemporary society.

Korean Version (LLM-Generated)

이번에는 이음 미술관에서 본 필립 파레노 전시의 사진을 갖고 왔습니다. 직접적인 관련이 있는 내용은 없지만, 저는 그곳에서 델타-아의 무작위 단어를 들으면서 영감을 받았어요.

기억의 시대에서 우리가 살아가는 모든 것은 의미만학이며, 인공지능조차도 더 많은 의미를 만들어내고 있습니다. 하루에 얼마나 많은 '의미 없는' 텍스트를 대량생산하는지 생각해보세요. 이런 시도를 '의미해체'라고 할 수 있겠습니다.

어떤 텍스트도, 아마도 학술적이거나 철학적인 이유를 찾을 수 있을 것입니다. 그리고 그 텍스트는 주로 매우 진지한 방식으로 읽힐 것입니다.

그러나 텍스트가 '껍데기'라는 단어에 도달하면, 예를 들어, 스크립트가 '빈 껍데기만 남을 뿐이었다' 라고 가정해보세요... '껍데기'라는 언어의 의미가 다른 의미로 전환됩니다. 이처럼 다른 화면에 '돼지껍데기'라는 이미지가 나타나게 되죠.

이런 철학적인 문장, 데카르트의 '나는 생각한다, 고로 존재한다'를 기억하세요. 이 문장처럼 우리의 감각이 때때로 우리를 속이기도 하는 모습을 묘사하는 것입니다.

다양한 채널이 필요합니다. 일부는 AI가 다른 의미를 찾아내는 자동화 과정에 의해 이루어질 것입니다. 어쩌면 이것이 위키피디아 스타일의 하이퍼텍스트와 상당히 비슷한 첫 시도일 수 있습니다.

따라서, 원래 텍스트가 무엇인지 대부분의 사람들이 알지 못하도록 다양한 오디오비주얼 샘플을 결합하는 것입니다. 이것은 아이러니하지만 사람의 뇌가 어떻게 작동하는지, 그리고 사람이 어떻게 인간다운지를 보여줍니다. 사상의 연결고리를 만들어내는 것, 곧 하이퍼텍스트 사고입니다. 하이퍼, 하이퍼, 하이퍼...!