This paper challenges the prevailing tendency to frame Large Language Models (LLMs) as cognitive systems, arguing instead for a semiotic perspective that situates these models within the broader dynamics of sign manipulation and meaning-making. Rather than assuming that LLMs understand language or simulate human thought, we propose that their primary function is to recombine, recontextualize, and circulate linguistic forms based on probabilistic associations. By shifting from a cognitivist to a semiotic framework, we avoid anthropomorphism and gain a more precise understanding of how LLMs participate in cultural processes, not by thinking, but by generating texts that invite interpretation. Through theoretical analysis and practical examples, the paper demonstrates how LLMs function as semiotic agents whose outputs can be treated as interpretive acts, open to contextual negotiation and critical reflection. We explore applications in literature, philosophy, education, and cultural production, emphasizing how LLMs can serve as tools for creativity, dialogue, and critical inquiry. The semiotic paradigm foregrounds the situated, contingent, and socially embedded nature of meaning, offering a more rigorous and ethically aware framework for studying and using LLMs. Ultimately, this approach reframes LLMs as technological participants in an ongoing ecology of signs. They do not possess minds, but they alter how we read, write, and make meaning, compelling us to reconsider the foundations of language, interpretation, and the role of artificial systems in the production of knowledge.

翻译：本文挑战了将大语言模型（LLMs）视为认知系统的普遍倾向，转而主张从符号学视角将其置于更广泛的符号操作与意义生成动态中。我们提出，LLMs的主要功能并非理解语言或模拟人类思维，而是基于概率关联对语言形式进行重组、再语境化与流通。通过从认知主义转向符号学框架，我们避免了拟人化倾向，并更精确地理解了LLMs如何参与文化过程——它们不依赖思考，而是通过生成可供解释的文本发挥作用。通过理论分析与实例论证，文章展示了LLMs作为符号代理的运行机制：其输出可被视作解释性行为，开放于语境协商与批判性反思。我们探索了LLMs在文学、哲学、教育、文化生产中的应用，强调其作为创造力、对话与批判性研究工具的价值。符号学范式凸显了意义的具身性、偶然性与社会嵌入本质，为研究与使用LLMs提供了更严谨且更具伦理意识的框架。最终，该路径将LLMs重构为参与持续符号生态的技术实体：它们并不拥有心灵，却改变了我们阅读、书写与创造意义的方式，促使我们重新审视语言、解释的基础及人工系统在知识生产中的角色。