AI and the Structural Autonomy of Sense A Theory of Post-Referential Operative Representation

This paper introduces the theory of Structural Autonomy of Sense, a novel framework to conceptualize representations that exert real-world effects without empirical referentiality. In contrast to traditional models based on truth, belief, or social consensus, the proposed theory defines a class of representations whose legitimacy derives solely from internal coherence, executable structure, and systemic operability. These are called post-referential operative representations. Through a formal model and empirical analysis — including predictive algorithms in justice, black-box AI diagnostics, credit scoring systems, and synthetic media — the paper demonstrates how such representations function autonomously within closed systems to produce legal, medical, economic, and epistemic consequences. This marks a paradigmatic shift in epistemology and ontology: from referential truth to functional structure as the source of authority. The work critically distinguishes itself from prior theories (Baudrillard, Berger & Luckmann, Searle, Luhmann, Lyotard) by offering a syntactic-operational foundation for legitimacy, independent of symbolic meaning or intersubjective validation.