Julia Kristeva in the Algorithmic Era: The Crisis of Textual Productivity

Abstract

In the era of the proliferation of large language models, this article examines the relevance of Julia Kristeva’s theory of textual productivity in the face of generative artificial intelligence (AI). By confronting the concepts of phenotext and genotext with the reality of algorithmic productions, we argue that AI, as an autonomous system, is structurally incapable of generating a genotext in the strong Kristevian sense, that is, a text carrying subversion and significant transformation. However, we propose that strategic human interaction with AI could open new paths towards hybrid textual productivity, where humans re-invest text with their critical and creative subjectivity. Textual productivity, in the face of AI, thus becomes a deliberate act of resistance to standardization.