The course aims at enriching perspectives on the analysis of cultural and social phenomena, encouraging the integration of humanities theories and methodologies into the background of the social sciences, pushing to overcome the stereotype of an unbridgeable divide. Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) is sweeping the current socio- cultural scenario in an overwhelming way, transforming business models, influencing political agendas and, more generally, reconfiguring creative processes and content fruition modes. In the face of these epochal changes, the course aims to provide students with a critical and multidisciplinary vision that can highlight the limits and potentials of the use of these innovative technologies by brands and organizations, using an approach that integrates theory with real cases. In order to analyze and deconstruct the languages of innovation, evaluating their social and cultural impact, methodological tools developed by semiotics will be provided, which are fundamental for understanding the socio-cultural implications in the strategic decisions of brands and organizations. The course aims at putting research and different learning modalities at the center of its agenda. For this reason, frontal lectures will be complemented by discussions, group projects and actual workshops in which students will be able to measure themselves with the creation of content through AI.

Knowledge and Understanding The course aims, by providing a rigorous semiotic methodology in dialogue with cultural branding, to strengthen critical thinking about innovation at play in contemporary times and the paradoxes that characterize it, exploring the fruitful intersections between different mutually influencing dimensions: Languages, Culture, Consumption, Politics, Technology. Applying Knowledge and Understanding Skills will be achieved through lectures, case studies, exercises. Students will be able to: - understand the evolution of meanings and languages from a cultural perspective - understanding the persuasive power of political and brand narratives - analyze the creative dimension of the advertising message, the rhetorical and performative use of written text, images and sounds - analyze the efficacy of messages using the semiotic method, which allows different textual forms to be de-constructed - acquire knowledge regarding the prospects and limits of AI for creating content Making Judgements Students are expected to acquire basic tools for evaluate the level of originality and effectiveness of persuasive communications. Communication Skills The course will allow students to acquire an appropriate lexicon for the analysis of communication. The exercises and project case will allow students to strengthen the communication skills (both written and visual) necessary to interact effectively with different stakeholders.

The cornerstones of the course are the notions of: - Creativity, invention, innovation. The impact of generative AI on content production - Methods and models of semiotic analysis - Narration and narrativity - Cultural evolution and cultural branding

Reference Books / Materials Mandatory for attendant students: - Ruiz Collantes FX, Oliva M. "Narrativity approaches to branding". In: Rossolatos G, editor. Handbook of brand semiotics. Kassel: Kassel University Press; 2015, p. 89-150 - Floridi L., 2023. AI as Agency Without Intelligence: on ChatGPT, Large Language Models, and Other Generative Models, Philosophy & Technology - Holt, D. B., (2004). How brands become icons: The principles of cultural branding. Harvard Business Press (Introduction, Chapter 1 and Chapter 5) - Adamo, G. (2024). Social Acceptance and Generative AI Brands. The Case of OpenAI. E|C, (41), 337-350 - Peverini, P. (2025). Artificial Intelligence’s meaning production between branding rhetoric and new hybrids, Ocula, Vol. 26, n. 33, 89-109. Additional (mandatory) for non-attending students: - Holt, D. B., (2004). How brands become icons: The principles of cultural branding. Harvard Business Press (Chapter 2 and Chapter 3) Optional: - Oswald, L (2015). Creating Value, Chapter 1. Oxford University Press.

Lectures; discussions; group projects

Attendance Attendance will be monitored through five roll calls, conducted during randomly selected classes throughout the semester. Students who are absent from more than two roll calls will be automatically classified as non-attendant students. Please note that attendance status determines the applicable assessment method. Attending Students - Group Work: 40% final grade - Midterm exam: 30% (1 open-ended question + 5 multiple-choice questions) - Final Written Exam: 30% (2 open-ended questions) Non-Attending Students - Final Written Exam: 100% final grade (3 open-ended questions + 10 multiple-choice questions on the mandatory program).

The minimum grade is 27/30