College Composition and Communication Sep 2025

Research Brief: Transformers

Ryan Omizo

Abstract

This Research Brief discusses transformers—the core engine for most artificial intelligence applications. The brief situates transformer technology within the field of rhetoric and composition by surveying recent studies; highlights the innovative aspects of transformers; and, finally, thinks through (Majdik and Graham) the operations of transformers and generative AI through Miller’s theory of topoi, illustrating one way in which rhetoric and composition scholars and teachers can critically engage with generative AI in instruction and research.

Journal
College Composition and Communication
Published
2025-09-01
DOI
10.58680/ccc2025771197
Open Access
Closed
Topics
artificial intelligence multilingual writers

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

Cites in this index (15)

  1. Manierre et al. (2025)
    Coexisting with ChatGPT: Evaluating a tool for AI-based paper revision
    Computers and Composition
  2. Sperber et al. (2025)
    Peer and AI Review + Reflection (PAIRR): A human-centered approach to formative…
    Computers and Composition
  3. Mehlenbacher et al. (2025)
    Synthetic Genres: Expert Genres, Non-Specialist Audiences, and Misinformation i…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Kulchar (2024)
    Vector Rhetoric: GPT’s Rhetorical Agency
    Philosophy & Rhetoric
  5. Wang (2024)
    Post-Rhetoric: A Rhetorical Profile of the Generative Artificial Intelligence Chatbot
    Rhetoric Review
Show all 15 →
  1. Hallsby (2024)
    A Copious Void: Rhetoric as Artificial Intelligence 1.0
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  2. Majdik et al. (2024)
    Rhetoric of/with AI: An Introduction
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  3. Omizo et al. (2024)
    Is Genre Enough? A Theory of Genre Signaling as Generative AI Rhetoric
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  4. Yang et al. (2024)
    Pathological Liars: Algorithmic Knowing in the Rhetorical Ecosystem of …
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  5. Aguilar (2024)
    Rhetorically training students to generate with AI: Social justice applications…
    Computers and Composition
  6. Knowles (2024)
    Machine-in-the-loop writing: Optimizing the rhetorical load
    Computers and Composition
  7. Ranade et al. (2024)
    Introduction: Composing with generative AI
    Computers and Composition
  8. Vetter et al. (2024)
    Towards a framework for local interrogation of AI ethics: A case study on text …
    Computers and Composition
  9. Majdik (2019)
    A Computational Approach to Assessing Rhetorical Effectiveness: Agentic Framing…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  10. Miller (2007)
    What Can Automation Tell Us About Agency?
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Also cites 7 works outside this index ↓
  1. LeCun (2015)
    Deep Learning
    Nature  ↗
  2. Luhmann (1992)
    What Is Communication?
    Communication Theory  ↗
  3. Majdik (2024)
    Sample Size Considerations for Fine-Tuning Large Language Models for Named Entity Recogni…
    JMIR AI  ↗
  4. Miller (2016)
    The Aristotelian Topos: Hunting for Novelty
    Foundations for Sociorhetorical Exploration: A Rhetoric of Religious Antiquity Reader  ↗
  5. Ng (2021)
    An Alternative Rationalisation of Creative AI by De-Familiarising Creativity: Towards an …
    AI for Everyone? Critical Perspectives  ↗
  6. Vig (2019)
    A Multiscale Visualization of Attention in the Transformer Model
    Proceedings of the 57th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics: System Demonstrations, Association for Computational Linguistics  ↗
  7. von Eschenbach (2021)
    Transparency and the Black Box Problem: Why We Do Not Trust AI
    Philosophy & Technology  ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 0 View in citation network →

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