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Virginia Tech

Encyclopædia Mundi: A digital experience

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Encyclopædia Mundi is an interactive software experience that questions the relationships between the authority of authorship, knowledge, and artificially generated text. The software presents itself as a genuine 90s digital encyclopedia, but the absurdity of the generated text, which is syntactically correct but semantically dubious, subverts the audience's expectation and reveals its true nature as an artwork. In this context, the audience is prompted to reflect on how we socially attribute authority to existing encyclopedic models, as well as the future role of artificial intelligence in contributing to our understanding of knowledge, truth, and reality.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Fine Arts
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Creative Technologies
Department dc:contributor.department
Art and Art History
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2021

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Ge, Tianyu
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Duer, Zachary R.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Santos Lages, Wallace
  • Upthegrove, John Tanner

Subjects

dc:subject × 3

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
vt_gsexam:31157
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/103645

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Ge, Tianyu. Encyclopædia Mundi: A digital experience. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/103645