Digital Age in Semiotics & Communication

Notes for contributors

Editorial Board — 2024-12-30

The blue brain metaphor for AI

Bent Sørensen — 2024-12-30

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an absolute key term in contemporary digital reality. It has become an umbrella term for a wide range of technologies developing rapidly, spanning and influencing diverse sectors and domains and, thereby, with an increasing impact on how more and more people live their daily lives and/or work. Public discourse on AI often involves metaphor or other imagery and thus a common way to represent AI is by what is sometimes called the “blue brain metaphor”. This visual metaphor is frequently used by a number of rather diverse addressers (stakeholders), in order to capture the essential elements of AI by conferring to it human-like characteristics.

In the following work we describe the semiosic background of the “blue brain metaphor” for AI. Inspired by the terminology of Umberto Eco, we understand the metaphor as a function of the socio-cultural format of the encyclopaedia which decides the relevant relations of similarity between AI and the human brain underlying the metaphorical production and interpretation. We address what characterises the “blue brain metaphor” visually and try to interpret (some of) its meanings. We will also accentuate how it builds on to the (old) metaphor: the “computer is a brain”. Finally, we briefly describe how the “blue brain metaphor” is related to diverse normative discourse concerning AI.

Conceptualizing visual metaphors in high tech products advertising: Results and conclusions from an empirical research

Sevim Taneva — 2024-12-30

The use of visual metaphors is a popular method of advertising nowadays. This paper briefly reviews the theoretical framework of metaphorical expression in advertising, and particularly the use of visual metaphors. It then continues with presenting results and findings from an empirical study on the use of visual metaphors in the ads of high-tech products. Given the nature of metaphors, the analysis is based on both qualitative and quantitative readings of the data, in order to reach more insightful conclusions. Based on the research findings and following the theoretical introduction, the paper concludes with implications and guidelines for the marketing utility of exploring the meaning and other features of visual metaphors.

Generative media: Sign, metaphor, and experience

Everardo Reyes — 2025-01-22

This article explores the vivid field of generative media, focusing on the production and semiotic analysis of texts. It uses the broad definition of “text,” which encompasses written, visual, and interactive forms, and examines how generative media redefines the roles of content creators and tools. Utilizing Roman Jakobson’s communication model, the article highlights the dynamic decision-making process in text production, whether by human or AI. The paper offers a historical review which traces generative media from early computer art in the 1960s, through the advent of digital design tools in the 1980s and 1990s, to contemporary AI techniques like GANs and diffusion models. It identifies the key properties of generative media: synthetic, dynamic, digital, combinatorial, and agentic. The discussion also addresses the shift from unnoticed AI assistance in early tools to the inadvertently AI-generated content in today’s media landscape. The last part of the paper categorizes generative media interfaces into three types: conversational, web UI, and visual programming interfaces, analyzing their semiotic implications. It suggests that understanding these tools requires recognizing their layered technical components and the evolving user experience from magic-like simplicity to complex customization. In conclusion, the articles advocates for a multidisciplinary, process-oriented approach to fully grasp the cultural and communicative transformations driven by generative media, emphasizing the importance of transparency and user agency in AI interactions.

Semiotic mediation for the sustainable digital empowerment of older adults

Alyse Yilmaz — 2024-12-30

As digital technologies proliferate, older adults are still facing significant challenges in achieving sustainable digital empowerment. This qualitative study examines the metaphorical registers spontaneously mobilized by seniors when discussing digital tools. It also highlights subjective semiotic framings which hinder their digital acculturation. Through ethnographic observations of digital literacy training, we identify diverse metaphorical projections conveying apprehensions (technologies as “nests of problems”, “magical” realms) but also motivating drivers towards meaningful digital appropriation. The findings underscore the importance of symbolic mediation strategies, in order to deconstruct inhibiting traditional theories and foster technology uses rooted in the life contexts of seniors. By elucidating the complex interplay of cognitive, emotional and cultural tensions shaping digital relationships, our research project argues for designing digital training less as technical instruction than as holistic empowerment journeys integrating identity-related dimensions. Ultimately, research on these semiotic foundations contributes to broader societal efforts that ensure equal voices for diverse knowledge approaches in an increasingly AI-dominated world. Only through such inclusive mediation efforts can we truly accompany digital “immigrants” toward affirmative technological citizenship.

Metaphor of the database: A taste construction

Karina Astrid Abdala Moreira — 2024-12-30

At the present time, we are metaphorizing in the sense of Lakoff (1998) regarding the creation of a database which can generate new tastes using artificial intelligence. On the one hand, there is a discussion about whether artificial intelligence is capable of creating new tastes, while on the other hand, there is a metaphorization based on the translation of our experiences and sensory perception. These elements are central when analyzing the metaphorization of the database for the construction of new tastes. The discussion is characterized by the problematic translation of perception between humans and its transfer to the machine. In order to analyze this phenomenon, I shall rely on Lotman’s (1999) notion of translation, as well as the notion of Hartley, Ibrus, and Ojamaa (2021) of how the translation from sensory perception to digitization occurs. It is important to note that, according to Hartley, Ibrus, and Ojamaa (2021), this translation to the digital sphere is primarily carried out through linguistic means. It is this element which allows me to connect it to Lakoff ’s (1998) notion of metaphor. The methodology developed in this article is based on the semiotics of Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), since it enables me to comprehend the notion of experience. Additionally, I shall draw on concepts developed by Biggio (2020) as he focuses on the computational phenomenon, combining a linguistic and social perspective. In order to understand these phenomena, I shall present some case studies related to taste and artificial intelligence. In summary, this study aims to shed light on the metaphorical connections between artificial intelligence and the construction of new tastes.

Metaphors of subversion in surveillance art photography

Raluca Vârlan-Bondor — 2024-12-30

The study addresses the way in which visual and discourse metaphors embody subversion in contemporary forms of documentary photography which investigate and illustrate the issue of surveillance. Surveillance art is part of a new configuration of the vigilance phenomena entailed by massive digitalization, in which the classic roles of the observer and the observed have been replaced by complex participatory dynamics.

Combining social and cognitive semiotic approaches from a theoretical point of view, the analysis dwells on a corpus formed of imagery by Hasan Elahi, Tomas van Houtryve, Mishka Henner. The purpose is to detect and discuss a typology of visual metaphors, as well as metaphorizations of situations in curatorial and other discursive practices which accompany the photographic projects.

Grammar of Visual Design by Kress and van Leeuwen will serve as the main theoretical starting point in defining and explaining a series of internal structures and visual mechanisms which produce a diverse array of subversive effects. The study further aims to discuss metaphors related to discourse practices, since all the art projects belonging to the aesthetics of surveillance are accompanied by an ample series of textual instances. There is also the hybrid manifestation, in which we can speak of interplay between images and texts. The aim is to create counter narrative effects, a phenomenon which can be considered a form of artistic hacktivism.

Finally, we will argue that the resemantization of images and the perceptive implications related to this process are part of a deep social and psychological phenomenon. They represent a powerful indicator of the radical changes in the way in which we define the private and public sphere through the digital lens.

The mythical and technomagic aquatic metaphors of digital aesthetics as a semiotic empowerment of the female, oneiric, and translucent imaginary in the techno-art

Paulo da Silva Quadros — 2024-12-30

This essay aims to reflect critically on how the technomagic concept, elucidated by the French philosopher Michel Maffesoli, proposes itself as a new way of understanding the contemporary aesthetics of the digital based on the immersive visual effects of liquid, dreamlike, and ethereal poetic sounds and visualities present in several examples of artistic contemporary productions. This philosophical and aesthetic perspective, brought about by technomagic evocates liquid and aquatic metaphors of digital artistic creations, as well as a way of understanding social human relationships in the digital sphere in an optimistic context of re-enchantment for human existence. For him, it was a process of feminization of the world, evocating mythical metaphors of cultural imaginaries and symbolics. Methodologically, this work intends to contemplate cultural semiotics as an enlightening approach by understanding digital culture as technological mediation for analyzing digital language which reflects the paths of technomagic in the expressions of technological art characteristics of digital media.

Conceptualizing digital reality through metaphors in public service announcements: A semiotic perspective

Nataliya Lysa — 2024-12-30

This article discusses the conceptualization of digital reality through metaphors in public service announcements (PSAs), employing a semiotic perspective. PSA is viewed as a complex sign in the space of culture generated by social institutions to be shared with the general public and to raise awareness about important issues of society. The discussion is based on three basic claims: firstly, as digital reality increasingly spreads throughout modern life, digital technology shapes how we understand and experience the world and profoundly alters meanings and cognitive structures; secondly, the creation and reconfiguration of meanings and cognitive structures caused by digital artifacts occurs through metaphorization processes resulting in the creation of digital metaphors; thirdly, digital metaphors are the driving force behind creation and a way of producing original PSAs and display commitment to innovation reflected in the selection of signs. The article proposes a theoretical framework that integrates the concepts of “digital metaphor” and “representation” in Peircean view, thus creating a semiotic perspective of interpreting the “discoverability” i.e. public perception and comprehension of PSAs. Special attention is paid to the multimodal nature of the complex cultural signs under study and the representative characters of different representamens. The analysis of some PSAs containing digital metaphors is provided to substantiate the potential of the suggested theoretical framework. The article draws inspiration from works by Charles S. Peirce (1903), Umberto Eco (2014), Ibrus Indrek and Peeter Torop (2015), Kristian Bankov (2022), Eric Chown and Fernando Nascimento (2023), and others.

Еnhancing city identity through digital metaphors

Konstantinos Digkas — 2024-12-30

City branding is a discipline focused on unveiling the unique character of cities and enhancing their visibility, identity, and cultural impact. In recent years, cities have been exploring new methods to promote themselves and attract more visitors. This has led stakeholders and those involved in city branding to find new pathways to create “a new identifiable image” of the city (Riza et al. 2012), making it an attractive destination (Kotler & Gertner 2002). With the rise of digital technologies and globalization, the possibilities for city branding have significantly increased. In the digital era, many cities that pivoted from traditional models of branding have succeeded in renewing their identity using digital media and the incorporation of digital metaphors in their branding campaigns. As a result, many cities have managed to rebrand and refashion their identity. This paper aims to explore how cities are represented in digital media and which digital metaphors are used to attract a younger, more technologically savvy audience. Through a multimodal framework, I will analyze the recent branding campaign of the city of Thessaloniki to identify how digital metaphors are used and their impact on younger audiences.

Digital realities and metaphorical constructs: A multimodal semiotic and intermedial analysis of Blade Runner 2049

Maria Katsaridou — 2024-12-30

The concept of metaphor has long been explored in film in a variety of ways, from Eisenstein’s experimentations to more contemporary examples. Contemporary theoreticians such as Forceville (2016) have enhanced the concept of metaphor, moving away from its purely linguistic quality and underlying its multimodal aspect. In this article, we will use Force-ville’s paradigm of multimodal metaphors as implemented in films. We will analyse Blade Runner 2049 (Villeneuve 2017), focusing on its representation of digital reality through multimodal metaphors. The film, widely acclaimed for its philosophical depth (Shanahan et al. eds. 2020) and visual storytelling, is set in a dystopian future where human-like androids coexist with humans and serve as a means for exploring digital metaphors in a society dominated by artificial intelligence and augmented reality. We examine the film’s use of visual, auditory, and narrative elements, in order to construct a metaphorical framework that reflects contemporary digital concerns. Through an in-depth exploration of its visual, auditory, and narrative dimensions, this analysis uncovers a dense metaphorical structure within the film. This structure mirrors pressing societal concerns regarding the evolution and impact of digitalisation, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence, providing a critical lens on contemporary technological advancements. The study aims to enrich the discourse on digital metaphors in media, highlighting the evolving interplay between human experiences and technological advancements.

Conceptualizing digital reality through metaphors: Semiotic and interdisciplinary perspective

Kristian Bankov — 2024-12-30

Metaphors have always played a fundamental role in conceptualizing digital realities. Their everyday use, however, makes them challenging to recognize, as they have solidified in our shared imagination. This crystallization is precisely what enables a community of interpreters to attach meaning to a signifier, allowing mutual understanding.