Event | When Programmes Disagree About Programmes: Code Poetry and the Problem of Programme–Programme Communication

What happens when programmes interpret programmes? As decision-making becomes increasingly mediated by computational procedures, interactions between programmes themselves come into view as a potential site of communication.

This workshop explores the challenge of programme–programme communication through the case of code poetry—an artefact that simultaneously invites formal execution and semantic interpretation. Drawing on a moderated dialogue between two large language models interpreting the same code poems, the session examines how divergent interpretations emerge, stabilise, and resist convergence.

The event begins with a presentation of the underlying study, followed by invited commentaries. Participants will then work in small groups to design and reflect on their own programme–programme interactions using similar experimental setups. A plenary discussion will conclude the workshop, focusing on the implications for organisation theory, artificial intelligence, and the status of communication in programme-rich environments.

Convened by

Professor Steffen Roth (Excelia Business School and Wolfson College, University of Cambridge)
Dr Vincent Lien (Clare College, University of Cambridge)

Venue: University of Cambridge, SG2, Alison Richard Building, 7 West Road, CB3 9DP Cambridge, United Kingdom (and online).
Date and time: 27 May 2026, 10:00-14:30.

To help us organise the session, please RSVP in advance.

Hosted and sponsored by CRASSH, the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Cambridge. Supported by Wolfson College Interdisciplinary Research Hubs and the Next Society Corporation Ltd.

Background literature:

• Roth S. (2019), Digital transformation of social theory. A research update, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Vol. 146 No. September, pp. 88-93.
• Roth S. and Lien V. (2026). Romancing the programmes. Management implications of a mediated discussion between two large language models on code poetry, Manuscript. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.19273.20327.