The Rhetoric of Machine Learning
Machine Learning
2026-04-09 v1 Computers and Society
Abstract
I examine the technology of machine learning from the perspective of rhetoric, which is simply the art of persuasion. Rather than being a neutral and "objective" way to build "world models" from data, machine learning is (I argue) inherently rhetorical. I explore some of its rhetorical features, and examine one pervasive business model where machine learning is widely used, "manipulation as a service."
Cite
@article{arxiv.2604.06754,
title = {The Rhetoric of Machine Learning},
author = {Robert C. Williamson},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.06754},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
25 pages. Text of a talk given at AlphaPersuade 2.0, 26 March 2026