Journal of Publishing and Criticism
JPC, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2026, pp.155-162
Print ISSN: 3107-0892; Online ISSN: 3107-0906
Journal homepage: https://www.jpcjournal.com
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64058/jpc260116sbdmd
Symbol as Bridge: Decoding the Meaning Dilemma in the Era of AI—A Review of Zhao Yiheng’s Cultural Semiotics in the Era of Artificial Intelligence
Sun Rong, Tan Qing
Abstract: This review critically examines Professor Zhao Yiheng’s seminal work, Cultural Semiotics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. In an era where AI profoundly permeates cultural production and meaning construction, the book employs cultural semiotics as a theoretical framework to confront core cultural crises arising from AI: the symbolic essence of AI-generated content, the crisis of human subjectivity in the post-human era, and the risk of “Heat Death of Meaning” caused by information overload. The review illuminates three key contributions: First, by defining AI as a non-intentional symbolic machine, the book reaffirms the ontological bond between meaning and human consciousness, desires, and lived experiences. Second, it proposes “Continuity as the Fourth Rationality”, providing a sharp analytical tool for understanding AI-generated texts and expanding the horizons of semiotic theory. Third, through reflections on “Form and Meaning”, “Five Paradoxes” and “Halfway Style”, the book issues a profound warning about homogenized meaning in contemporary art. The work bridges the technological and humanistic perspectives, offering crucial intellectual resources for safeguarding the depth and diversity of human meaning in the AI era. However, it leaves gaps in addressing “externalizations”, particularly in exploring dimensions of symbolic political economy like algorithmic bias, symbolic power, and platform politics.
Keywords: artificial intelligence; cultural semiotics; rationality; form and meaning
Author Biographies: Sun Rong, Lecturer, Guangzhou Xinhua University, and Ed.D. candidate, Guangzhou University. Research interests: International Chinese Language Education, Language and Culture. E-mail: nancysun2012@163.com. Tan Qing (Corresponding Author), Lecturer, Guangzhou Xinhua Universitiy. Research interests: International Chinese Language Education, Linguistic Landscapes and Cross-cultural Communication. E-mail: angela_qing@163.com.
标题：符号为桥，解码AI时代的意义困境——评赵毅衡《人工智能时代的文化符号学》
摘要：本文是对赵毅衡教授《人工智能时代的文化符号学》一书的评述。面对人工智能深度渗透文化生产与意义建构的时代，本书以文化符号学为理论工具，系统回应了AI引发的核心文化困境：如AI生成物的符号本质、后人类时代的主体性危机以及信息过载导致的“意义热寂”风险。书评认为，该书的贡献体现在三个层面：其一，通过判定AI为“非意图性符号机器”，捍卫了意义与人类意识、欲望、生命体验的本体论联结；其二，创造性地提出“延续性作为第四理据性”，为分析AI文本生成提供了锐利工具，并推动了符号学理论的范式扩容；其三，以“形式与意义”“五个悖论”与“半程风格”反思当代艺术，发出意义同质化的深刻预警。这本书在技术和人文之间搭起了一座批判性的桥梁，为AI时代保护人类意义世界的深度和多样性，提供了重要的思想资源。不过，它也留下了一些“外部性”议题的空白，比如算法偏见、符号权力等内容，还有待深入挖掘。
关键词：人工智能；文化符号学；理据性；形式与意义
作者简介：孙荣，广州新华学院讲师/广州大学人文学院博士研究生，研究方向：国际中文教育，语言与文化。电邮：nancysun2012@163.com。谭清（通讯作者），讲师，广州新华学院，研究方向：国际中文教育，语言景观与跨文化交际。电邮：angela_qing@163.com。
Received: 27 Mar 2026 / Revised: 21 Apr 2026 / Accepted: 23 Apr 2026 / Published online: 30 Apr 2026 / Print published: 30 May 2026.
