AI and the Priority of Writing: The Raise of Large Language Models (LLMs)
AI and the Priority of Writing Introduction The rise of artificial intelligence, particularly large language models (LLMs), challenges long-standing assumptions about language, meaning, and human cognition. Unlike humans, who acquire language through embodied interaction, AI systems develop linguistic competence purely through textual data. This phenomenon invites a reexamination of the role of writing in meaning-making, aligning with Derrida’s concept of arche-writing —the idea that inscription precedes and exceeds speech. The efficiency of AI’s text-based training suggests that writing, rather than spoken language, is the foundation of signification. In this article, we explore how AI’s reliance on written language provides evidence for the primacy of inscription in the structure of meaning. AI and the Written Word Large language models like ChatGPT are trained exclusively on vast corpora of written text. They do not acquire language through sensory perception, auditory...