The Rhetoric of Technology. An Overview of Problems and a Proposalfor Use of Rhetorical Tools

Abstract

Can technology be perceived as rhetoric? This question is the starting point for further considerations, especially when, to put it imprecisely, technologies speak for us: interfaces, chatbots, algorithms. Are we truly at a stage where a kind of rhetoric of automation and digital persuasion has emerged? The problem boils down to how we understand the concepts of “technology,” “rhetoric,” and “digital persuasion.” Are these real terms (in the logical sense) or merely metaphors? What, then, is the role and significance of “technology” in today’s society? Can we truly speak of a change in communication—human-machine, or rather: human-AI tools? This is especially true given that the usefulness of AI tools in solving certain problems, such as machine learning, translation, and the deciphering of partially destroyed texts, such as the Herculaneum or Dead Sea Scrolls, is unquestionable. This study will attempt to answer these questions.