The Language of Machines from Baroque Automata to Digital Hybrids: The Poetics of Technological Evolution

This article presents a comprehensive interdisciplinary study of the evolution of the language of machines, examined as a reflection of fundamental epistemological and cultural paradigms of different historical epochs. In order to achieve for the first time an interdisciplinary methodological synthesis of Object-Oriented Ontology, the theory of hyperobjects, and historical-cultural analysis, the paper proposes to study machines as actors possessing their own language, thereby overcoming the traditional anthropocentric approach in studies of technology. The central thesis maintains that machines have never been neutral tools but have consistently functioned as active actors that shape and transmit specific linguistic codes embodying the aesthetic, social, and power structures of their time. The methodological framework synthesizes the principles of Graham Harman's object-oriented ontology, Timothy Morton's concept of hyperobjects, and historical-cultural analysis, thus enabling the identification of a continuous line of transformation in machine language from the Baroque era to the digital present. The novelty of the research lies in the development of a periodization of the evolution of machine language, which identifies its specific regimes (allegorical, intimate-playful, functional-deterministic, reflexively-hybrid) and links them to shifts in cultural-historical paradigms, rather than solely to technological progress. The research results demonstrate a sequential shift in linguistic regimes: the allegorical theatricality and rhetorical excess of Baroque automata give way to the intimate and playful language of Rococo machines, which in turn is replaced by the functional determinism and standardized “grammar of mechanisms” of Franz Reuleaux in the industrial age. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the contemporary digital stage, where the language of artificial intelligence is characterized as reflexive-hybrid. It is shown that AI systems generate a fundamentally new type of interaction based on feedback loops (retroflection) and fusion processes, leading to the emergence of distributed epistemological structures and the blurring of traditional boundaries between natural and artificial intelligence. The study reveals that machines not only perform utilitarian functions but also actively participate in generating new regimes of knowledge production, acting as co-authors. The conclusions emphasize that modern technologies represent complex actor-network formations in which materiality acquires its own voice through the hybrid language of reflexive co-creation, necessitating the development of new ethical and philosophical frameworks for understanding human-machine interaction.