Punctum.

By: Letícia Moraes and Silvia Sousa

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the processes of meaning construction in generative AI models, with particular attention to how regional datasets shape the production of meanings related to the Global South. It draws on the semiotic framework developed by Greimas and Courtés, who approached meaning as a process and proposed a horizontal model – the generative trajectory of meaning (parcours génératif) – capable of ideally simulating the transition from abstract schematized forms to enunciative realization. With the widespread adoption of generative AI, it has become possible to observe the immediate conversion of system components, now stored not in social memory but in datasets composed of complex collections of text-objects. Grounded in Jacques Fontanille’s theory of enunciative praxis, the study examines possible configurations of the discursive field in texts generated through interactions between human prompts and AI systems. It advances the hypothesis that the existential emergence of semiotic objects produced by such technologies no longer originates in pure virtuality (virtualization) – from which forms traditionally emerge – but rather stems from the continuous recombination of pre-formed, potentialized structures stored in datasets. This dynamic, in turn, helps explain the amplification of biases and stereotypes in AI outputs. To investigate this hypothesis and deepen the semiotic critique of AI from the perspective of the Global South, particularly in light of data underrepresentation, the study focuses on Amazônia IA, a generative model developed in Brazil. It compares this model with more globalized systems such as ChatGPT. Through this comparison, the research seeks to reveal how meaning regimes operate when generative outputs are informed by regionally rooted datasets, potentially reflecting local cultural contexts. Ultimately, the paper aims to assess whether, and to what extent, such models challenge hegemonic frameworks of meaning construction and promote the development of more ethical, plural, and culturally situated discourses.

 
Download full text: PDF