Rhetoric Review Jul 2024

Post-Rhetoric: A Rhetorical Profile of the Generative Artificial Intelligence Chatbot

Zhaozhe Wang University of Toronto

Abstract

The generative AI chatbot, as an artificial rhetorical agent participating in the invention and circulation of public discourse, shakes the foundations of rhetorical tenets such as agency, ethos, circulation, and justice; and in doing so, it further isolates rhetoric as amoral, ateleological technē concerned with mere calculated effects and consequences, and may ultimately contribute to a post-rhetoric condition. This article depicts a rhetorical profile of the generative AI chatbot characterized by stochastic rhetoric, which is distinguished from the conventional understanding of rhetoric as (human) conscious and purposeful use of language to induce change. Making a case for the possibility of a post-rhetoric condition, the article considers what it might mean for our conceptualization of ethos, circulation, and justice, and suggests ways of adapting to it.

Journal
Rhetoric Review
Published
2024-07-02
DOI
10.1080/07350198.2024.2351723
Open Access
Closed
Topics
artificial intelligence multilingual writers

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Hartelius (2025)
    <i>A Well-Trained Eye</i> : Artificial Intelligence and the…
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  2. Omizo (2025)
    Research Brief: Transformers
    College Composition and Communication
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    A posthumanist approach to AI literacy
    Computers and Composition

Cites in this index (12)

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    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
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    Rhetoric Review
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    Introduction to “Composing Algorithms: Writing (with) Rhetorical Machines”
    Computers and Composition
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    The Ethics of Writing for Algorithmic Audiences
    Computers and Composition
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    Understanding How Algorithms Work Persuasively Through the Procedural Enthymeme
    Computers and Composition
Show all 12 →
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    Computers and Composition
  2. Carnegie (2009)
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    Computers and Composition
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    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
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    Philosophy & Rhetoric
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    Digital Rhetoric: Toward an Integrated Theory
    Technical Communication Quarterly
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    Rhetorical Sovereignty: What Do American Indians Want from Writing?
    College Composition and Communication
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    The Politics of the Interface: Power and Its Exercise in Electronic Contact Zones
    College Composition and Communication
Also cites 18 works outside this index ↓
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CrossRef global citation count: 8 View in citation network →

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