The semantics of space and time of the far right. A neopragmatic study of landscape interpretation by generative Al

Abstract

Mediatisation, digitisation and algorithmisation irritate society. New possibilities of communication using AI potentiate forms of self-description and self-observation and serve, among other things, to influence politics. In this study, we investigate the question of the extent to which landscape-related visualisations of the extreme right can be accessed via generative AI and how semantics of space and time are constructed through data. The case study is based on an exploratory study (Frankenberger et al., 2024) and visualises landscape based on the electoral program of a right-wing populist German party in 2021. While a closed image of landscape and society is computed, the visualisation of a neutral prompt shows an open development. The results are analysed in terms of syntax, semantics and pragmatics and interpreted from a neopragmatist and systems theory perspective. It becomes apparent that the computation of semantics of space and time is contingent and reduces complexity and that it is required to access these reflexively.