AI and the Return of Formulaic Language: From Oral Memory to Algorithmic Repetition
Domenico Ioppolo traces the evolution of human language from oral formulaic traditions to the age of AI, arguing that generative algorithms produce a 'continuous, sublime repetition' (Umberto Eco) that lacks experiential weight. He contrasts ancient formulaic language—a mnemonic tool for preserving sacred narratives like the Iliad and Odyssey—with contemporary formulaic speech in media and politics, where words like 'resilience' and 'sustainability' become empty signals. The advent of writing freed language from memory, enabling complexity and experimentation from Dante to Joyce. Now, AI language models interpolate from vast text corpora, generating grammatically correct but semantically hollow outputs. Ioppolo warns that this new formulaic language, born from algorithmic synthesis, risks regressing into a 'new orality' devoid of bodily presence and authentic meaning. He calls for linguistic disobedience as a path to renewal, suggesting that a single authentic word can spark a new beginning.
Key facts
- Language originated as oral, formulaic, and ritualistic, with repetition serving memory.
- The Iliad, Odyssey, and Bible were composed for oral recitation, not reading.
- Writing allowed language to move beyond memory toward complexity and abstraction.
- Hugh of Saint Victor's reform reconceived the book as a structure to be read, fostering Scholasticism and rational thought.
- Modern literature from Dante to Joyce treated language as experimental and risk-taking.
- Contemporary formulaic language in advertising, politics, and social media functions as simulacra, not carriers of meaning.
- AI generative algorithms recombine existing texts probabilistically, producing plausible but hollow outputs.
- Ioppolo contrasts ancient formulaic language as a bridge to the future with today's formulaic language as a seal of closure.
- The article is published on Artribune, an Italian art magazine.
- Domenico Ioppolo is CEO of Campus and director of the Milano Marketing Festival.
Entities
Artists
- Domenico Ioppolo
- Umberto Eco
- Dante Alighieri
- William Shakespeare
- James Joyce
- Samuele Bersani
Institutions
- Artribune
- Campus
- Milano Marketing Festival
- Amazon