D.R. Gruber

Philosophy, Persuasion, and AI Humanities

About David R. Gruber

David R. Gruber is Associate Professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).


  • Philosophy of Neuroscience
  • Body Studies
  • AI Humanities
  • Rhetorical and Cultural Theory


    • David R. Gruber is currently the book reviews editor for the Journal of Consciousness Studies.



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    Philosophy & AI

    I write about why AI is persuasive and explore its relationship to past philosophical ideas about language, freedom, and Being. To do so, I draw on speculative philosphy, cultural theory, rhetoric, and consciousness studies.

    • There is No Language for AI to speak
    • AI and an Amorphigrist Ontology


    All of my philosophical work can be found here.

    • Other philosophical work asks "What's it like to be a universe?" — What if the universe acts as a giant brain? Can this line of inquiry prove useful for us?

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    Rhetoric and Persuasion

    I started my career focusing on the communication of neuroscience and why people found images of the brain so persuasive. I have since written several pieces on how neuroscience can expand the rhetorical tradition. In a recent 'Forum' for Rhetoric Society Quarterly, I present the idea of an 'ontological neurorhetoric' that uses mixed methods and interdisciplinary engagement to better understand the embodied contexts of neuroscience studies.

    I also developed 'affective constitutive rhetoric', which describes how experiences persuade us without words. But I have more recently been interested in rethinking metaphor studies through New Materialism. And I am also keen to revise Burke's notion of 'rhetorical identification' (here). So I am currently co-editing a book on the topic with Dr. Jason Kalin (to appear in Fall 2026).

    Work categorized under Rhetorical Studies may be found here.



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    Art and New Media Projects

    Here is a list of past creative projects:

  • Brain Art, Prints
  • Toward a Critical Neuroscience, 'Neuro News Generator' Project, MIT Leonardo
  • Kompart's "Speech(less)" Dance Project, Commentary
  • Global Warming Tree, Processing Code Project
  • Digital Cut-Ups
  • HyperRhiz: 'Tunnel Vision' A Cybertextual Interpretation, w/ D. Rieder

    • Contact

    David R. Gruber
    Associate Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
    David.Gruber@unlv.edu