Glory and Misery of Communication Theory at the Age of Artificial Sociality (Reflecting on Elena Esposito’s Book “Artificial Communication: How Algorithms Produce Social Intelligence”)

Section: Criticism and Bibliography

In this essay, the authors reflect on the possibility of comprehending the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in society through the prism of communication theories. The starting point for their considerations is the recently published monograph by Niklas Luhmann’s student Elena Esposito, who proposes and develops the concept of artificial communication. The authors of the essay seek to substantiate two theses. First, Esposito’s application of Luhmann’s theory to analyzing interactions between humans and algorithms in contemporary society is the most successful attempt within communication studies. Second, Esposito’s position’s limitations arise from the chosen conceptual apparatus, making it challenging to grasp human-algorithm distinctions. By comparing artificial communication to other socio-psychological and sociological concepts, the authors attempt to surpass these limitations.

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To cite this article: Rezaev A. V., Tregubova N. D. (2024) Blesk i nishcheta teorii kommunikatsii v epokhu iskusstvennoy sotsial’nosti (Razmyshlyaya o knige Eleny Espozito “Artificial Communication: How Algorithms Produce Social Intelligence”) [Glory and misery of communication theory at the age of artificial sociality (Reflect- ing on Elena Esposito’s book “Artificial Communication: How Algorithms Produce Social Intelligence”)]. Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seriya 10. Zhurnalistika 4: 107–119. DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.4.2024.107119