Preparatory space: Roland Barthes and Large Language Models
Preparatory space: Roland Barthes and Large Language Models
The article offers a reading of Roland Barthes’ account of language and writing, set against an account of the ‘preparation’ of language specific to recent developments with AI Large Language Models. Presented in the form of lecture notes, it takes inspiration from Roland Barthes’ The Preparation of the Novel, but drawn through a reading of key essays: ‘The Structural Analysis of Narrative’, ‘From Work to Text’ and the lesser-known ‘Semiology and Urbanism’ (1967). The latter text represents a pivot point between Barthes’ structuralism and post-structuralist phases. It is argued that Large Language Models re-situate the pertinence of a structuralist account of culture. Exploring the convergence of mathematical, physical and metaphorical functions of ‘space’, the lecture opens up the prospect of a ‘preparatory space’, whereby language and its effects can be thought of as finite, and so calculable – already prepared.
Roland Barthes, Large language models (LLMs), artificial intelligence (AI), Structuralism
164–198
Manghani, Sunil
75650a9a-458d-4e1a-9480-94491300e385
9 November 2024
Manghani, Sunil
75650a9a-458d-4e1a-9480-94491300e385
Manghani, Sunil
(2024)
Preparatory space: Roland Barthes and Large Language Models.
Barthes Studies, 10, .
Abstract
The article offers a reading of Roland Barthes’ account of language and writing, set against an account of the ‘preparation’ of language specific to recent developments with AI Large Language Models. Presented in the form of lecture notes, it takes inspiration from Roland Barthes’ The Preparation of the Novel, but drawn through a reading of key essays: ‘The Structural Analysis of Narrative’, ‘From Work to Text’ and the lesser-known ‘Semiology and Urbanism’ (1967). The latter text represents a pivot point between Barthes’ structuralism and post-structuralist phases. It is argued that Large Language Models re-situate the pertinence of a structuralist account of culture. Exploring the convergence of mathematical, physical and metaphorical functions of ‘space’, the lecture opens up the prospect of a ‘preparatory space’, whereby language and its effects can be thought of as finite, and so calculable – already prepared.
Text
MANGHANI-Preparatory-Space
- Version of Record
More information
e-pub ahead of print date: 9 November 2024
Published date: 9 November 2024
Keywords:
Roland Barthes, Large language models (LLMs), artificial intelligence (AI), Structuralism
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 500653
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/500653
ISSN: 2058-3680
PURE UUID: 33f41a6e-6a2a-4771-9237-f09e730246a8
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 08 May 2025 16:38
Last modified: 22 Aug 2025 02:08
Export record
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
