Workshop Invites Creatives to Invent Words That Resist AI Logic
King's College London is hosting a workshop on June 29 where artists, designers, and creative professionals will collaborate on inventing new words designed to push back against large language models.
The session centers on the Reverse Contradictionary, a dictionary of confrontational neologisms published in December 2025 by net artist Vuk Ćosić, the collective IOCOSE, and researcher Vladan Joler. The book presents new words crafted to challenge what its creators call the "predatory, algorithmic logic of statistical language."
The workshop runs from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Bush House North East Wing on the Strand Campus in London.
How the Session Works
The afternoon splits into two parts. Organizers will first introduce the Contradictionary project and walk through some of its most provocative entries, illustrated by Joler's visuals.
In the second half, participants break into small groups to brainstorm and create new words. Contributions that meet the project's standards may be included in future editions of the book, with full author credit.
No background in linguistics, technology, or the arts is required. The event targets academics, artists, postgraduate students, and practitioners from arts and culture institutions.
A drinks reception follows the workshop.
Who's Leading It
Ćosić is a founding figure in net art and helped establish the nettime and Syndicate mailing lists. IOCOSE is a four-person collective (Matteo Cremonesi, Filippo Cuttica, Davide Prati, Paolo Ruffino) whose work has been shown at Tate Modern, Transmediale, and other major institutions. Joler's research maps the human labor, data, and resources embedded in AI systems-he co-authored Anatomy of an AI System with Kate Crawford, investigating what goes into building an Amazon Echo.
The event is organized by King's College London's Centre for Digital Culture, with sessions led by Paolo Ruffino (Senior Lecturer in Digital Curation and Computational Creativity), Joanna Zylinska (Professor of Media Philosophy + Critical Digital Practice), and David Young (Lecturer in Digital Media and Culture).
For creatives working with AI for Creatives or exploring Generative Art, the workshop offers a practical entry point into critical resistance strategies-moving beyond passive consumption of AI tools toward active intervention in how language systems work.
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