# Generative Aesthetics of AI > [!warning] Claude/Codex: All content below is provisional > This session note is a working map for the project after the PPR rejection. It should not be treated as evidence that the structure, cuts, or section plan are settled. Nick said on 2026-05-08 that the current state of the project is about to change soon. ## Project Tag Use `#generative-aesthetics` as the unifying hashtag for every note tied to this project. Nick explicitly set this on 2026-05-08 because his notes around this project are messy and may be scattered across clippings, captures, research notes, drafts, and older archive material. This tag should cover notes about the environmental aesthetics paper, the generative aesthetics framing, semiotic physics as an aesthetic framework for LLMs, and cut-down/revision planning for this paper. ## Hub Working Longform project: `Writing/research/generative aesthetics of ai/towards 8k cuts/` Official section drafts should live in that Longform project. As of 2026-05-24, the live Longform `Index.md` lists these scenes: - [[Writing/research/generative aesthetics of ai/towards 8k cuts/Introduction|Introduction]] - [[Writing/research/generative aesthetics of ai/towards 8k cuts/1.Appreciating Design, Appreciating Order|1.Appreciating Design, Appreciating Order]] - [[Writing/research/generative aesthetics of ai/towards 8k cuts/2. What LLMs Are|2. What LLMs Are]] - [[Writing/research/generative aesthetics of ai/towards 8k cuts/4. Semiotic Physics|4. Semiotic Physics]] - [[Writing/research/generative aesthetics of ai/towards 8k cuts/5. Levels of Appreciation|5. Levels of Appreciation]] The folder also contains [[Writing/research/generative aesthetics of ai/towards 8k cuts/3. LLMs and Person-Directed Knowledge|3. LLMs and Person-Directed Knowledge]], but that file is not listed in the Longform scenes as of 2026-05-24. Check before treating its inclusion or omission as a settled structural decision. Index: - [[Writing/research/generative aesthetics of ai/towards 8k cuts/Index|towards 8k cuts]] Earlier/related Longform material exists at: - `Writing/research/generative aesthetics of ai/generative aesthetics of ai/` Do not assume the older folder is the live revision target unless Nick says so. The newly created `towards 8k cuts` project is where official section drafts should now be placed. ## Current Aim After a commentless PPR rejection after four months, the current aim is to cut the paper from roughly 13,000 words to 8,000 words. This is not just a polish pass. It requires structural decisions about what to cut, what to compress, what to merge, and what to preserve. Current planning is still in motion. ## Recent Planning Materials Recent ChatGPT clipping about how to cut the paper: - [[Clippings/nick - Cutting Paper to 8000 Words 1|nick - Cutting Paper to 8000 Words 1]] There is also an apparent duplicate: - [[Clippings/nick - Cutting Paper to 8000 Words|nick - Cutting Paper to 8000 Words]] The newest clipping is `Clippings/nick - Cutting Paper to 8000 Words 1.md`, created on 2026-05-08. It contains a copied conversation with ChatGPT evaluating an Opus discussion about cutting the paper to 8,000 words. It should be treated as a current planning document, but Nick also flagged on 2026-05-08 that the project state is about to change soon, so this session note should be updated after the next structural decisions. Working summary of that clipping: - The paper is treated as roughly 13,000 words of body prose. - The target is 8,000 words. - The planning conversation distinguishes shallow word-count reduction from structural compression. - One live direction is to rewrite Section 2 as a more direct account of what LLMs are, without prematurely introducing artifacts, design appreciation, semiotic physics, Olah, forces, trajectories, or anti-agency conclusions. - One live direction is to move Olah into the later design/artifact discussion rather than Section 2. - One live direction is to merge or compress the negative material about person-based and design-based appreciation. - One live direction is to preserve articulation while cutting tutorial-style examples. These are planning threads, not settled instructions, except where Nick explicitly agrees in the clipping. ## Sources and Reference Folder Markdown versions of the current reference-list sources were created on 2026-05-08 at: - `Learning/generative aesthetics of AI/` Manifest: - `Learning/generative aesthetics of AI/00 - conversion manifest.md` The manifest records which bibliography entries were converted from local Learning sources and which entries were not found locally. ## Search Terms Useful search terms for past conversations and scattered notes: - generative aesthetics - environmental aesthetics of generative AI - environmental aesthetics of AI - semiotic physics - LLM appreciation - order appreciation - Carlson - design appreciation - person appreciation - chatbots and fictionalism - Frankish - Mallory - Wolfram - Picca - Janus - cutting paper to 8000 words ## Context for Next Session Start from the live Longform project: - `Writing/research/generative aesthetics of ai/towards 8k cuts/` Then read: - [[Clippings/nick - Cutting Paper to 8000 Words 1|ChatGPT cutting plan clipping]] Treat the clipping as recent but provisional. Nick expects the project state to change soon. Update this session note after decisions are made about the revised section structure, especially any decisions about Section 2, the negative section(s), and which examples or analogies will be cut.