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Abstract The big language models represented by ChatGPT and Wenxinyiyan show the great potential of “AI generation”. Computing through algorithms is the fundamental difference between computer programming languages and natural human languages， and it is an important dimension in understanding AI. Introducing algorithms into literary studies requires， on the one hand， an understanding of the logic behind the algorithms， and on the other hand， an understanding of the process of continuous “digitization” of literary studies itself. Literary studies has long been concerned with algorithm-related issues. The “methodology fever” of the 1980s not only took cybernetics and information theory related to AI as important scientific foundations and sources of ideas， but also began to incorporate existing literary and artistic resources as much as possible， in attempt to realize the literary and aesthetic appropriation of the ideas and methods of the “three theories”， which constituted the theoretical “precursor” of introducing algorithms to literary studies. There are two approaches to study the interpretation of algorithm. One is to take the algorithm as an object and compare the operation logic and execution process of the algorithm with the activities of literary creation and literary research， and then discuss the characteristics of the interpretation of the algorithm as an object. Based on the related theoretical thinking of Western literary theories in the 20th century， the interpretation of algorithms as objects can be named as the “writable interpretation” of “human-computer interaction”. The second approach is to take algorithms as a method to empower literary creation and literary research，an activity that was previously purely in the realm of spiritual production， through the application of the data processing ability of the algorithms and the evaluation of its effectiveness in realizing their tasks， so as to improve the effectiveness of literary creation and research. “Digital humanities” (or “humanistic computing”) is the name given to this complementary approach， which has been in development for nearly 90 years. In the age of artificial intelligence， the study of literature has the potential to realize “overall interpretation” of literary meaning.
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Received: 22 September 2023
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2023, Vol. 62 
