AI Nüshu: An Exploration of Language Emergence in Sisterhood Through the Lens of Computational Linguistics

Abstract

This paper presents “AI Nüshu," an emerging language system inspired by Nüshu (women’s scripts), the unique language created and used exclusively by ancient Chinese women who were thought to be illiterate under a patriarchal society. In this interactive installation, two artificial intelligence (AI) agents are trained in the Chinese dictionary and the Nüshu corpus. By continually observing their environment and communicating, these agents collaborate towards creating a standard writing system to encode Chinese. It offers an artistic interpretation of the creation of a non-western script from a computational linguistics perspective, integrating AI technology with Chinese cultural heritage and a feminist viewpoint.