concept

semiosphere

Facts (10)

Sources

Not Minds, but Signs: Reframing LLMs through Semiotics - arXiv arxiv.org arXiv Jul 1, 2025 10 facts

claimPrompting is a micro-act of navigation within the semiosphere, representing a culturally embedded intervention shaped by the broader ecology of signs in which both the user and the LLM are immersed.

referenceYuri Lotman describes the semiosphere as the cultural environment in which all acts of signification occur, serving as a heterogeneous matrix of discourses, genres, and ideological structures that constrain and enable local acts of meaning-making.

claimPrompts act as semiotic catalysts for Large Language Models by triggering selective activation within the model's latent potentials and engaging with the semiosphere at specific coordinates.

perspectiveFrom a semiotic perspective, the linguistic variability in Large Language Model outputs illustrates the model's navigation within the semiosphere, exposing the stratified texture of cultural tensions and semiotic negotiations.

claimThe ability of LLMs to function as semiotic machines within the semiosphere is linked to the vastness and heterogeneity of the textual corpora used for training, which represent a partial and filtered sampling of the semiosphere.

claimA broader and more diverse training corpus increases the ability of Large Language Models to generate texts that reflect the polysemy, interconnections, and contradictions inherent in the semiosphere.

referenceYuri Lotman's concept of the 'semiosphere' posits that meaning does not arise in a vacuum but is always shaped by the cultural and textual environment in which signs interact.

perspectiveThe authors of 'Not Minds, but Signs: Reframing LLMs through Semiotics' argue that prompting and interpreting LLM outputs are acts of semiotic navigation, which involve moving through and reshaping the discursive prospects that constitute the semiosphere.

claimThe semiotic paradigm supports rigorous critical analysis of Large Language Models by foregrounding their embeddedness within broader semiotic environments (the semiosphere) and highlighting how cultural codes, ideological patterns, and user interventions shape outputs.

claimYuri Lotman's conception of the semiosphere rejects the static, systematic view of signification found in classical structuralism (such as that of Ferdinand de Saussure) in favor of a dynamic, dialogic model where meaning is contested, layered, and historically situated.