Събития

Участници:
Студенти, докторанти  и преподаватели от НБУ, ERUA партньорски университети, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Constantine the Philosopher University (Slovakia), Yerevan State University, University of Turin, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

04.09.2026 г. – 07.09.2026 г.

Събитието ще е в наложилия се през последните години формат от 4 дни интензивно интердисциплинарно научно обсъждане и обучение, ориентирано около темата за аналогии и различия между човешката и изкуствената субективност, разглеждайки начина, по който смисълът, идентичността и „Аз“-ът се конструират в условията на генеративно увеличена комуникация. Ще се дикутират семиотичните модели на субективност, проблемите на авторството, интенционалността и интерпретацията, както и границите между симулирана и преживяна субективност при изкуствения интелект. Школата ще бъде отворена за сътрудничество и с други работни пакети, по които в проекта има заложени пресечни точки.

Recent developments in generative artificial intelligence have reopened a fundamental question for semiotics, social sciences and the humanities: what does it mean to be a subject in a world where machines produce discourse, images, and narratives?

In his recent work Nati cyborg (2025), Claudio Paolucci argues that generative AI does not simply challenge human intelligence but rather reveals something essential about it. From a semiotic perspective, subjectivity emerges not as a stable inner property but as an effect of enunciation, produced through the assemblage of heterogeneous discursive instances—norms, stereotypes, institutional voices, and previously articulated statements. Generative AI systems appear capable of performing similar operations, assembling fragments of discourse in ways that produce the effect of a speaking subject, even in the absence of intentional consciousness.

Taking these insights as a starting point, this conference seeks to move the discussion beyond the now familiar debates about whether AI “understands” or “thinks.” Instead, we invite scholars to explore the liminal zones of interaction between human and artificial subjectivities, particularly those emerging in creative, playful, and unexpected generative performances.

Indeed, contemporary generative systems increasingly produce outputs that appear to transcend purely instrumental communication: visual artworks, fictional narratives, stylistic imitations, humorous exchanges, ironic commentary, speculative personas, or even simulated psychotherapeutic dialogues. These phenomena raise new semiotic questions about creativity, authorship, voice, and subjectivity in hybrid human–machine environments.

EFSS 2024 is organized by the Southeast European Center for Semiotic Studies and the team of WP3 of European Reform University Alliance (ERUA2), with the support of the STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT FUND of New Bulgarian University

The XXVI EFSS is an event under the auspices of the International Association for Semiotic Studies (IASS)