Imaginaries of AI

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is considered a key technology in contemporary societies. Discursive and public imagination play a pivotal role in envisioning and determining trajectories of AI and its integration in society. Particularly, the approach of sociotechnical imaginaries offers a meaningful perspective to analyze the characteristics and impact of imaginaries surrounding technological advances. As AI seems to be in a formative phase – both as a technology and infrastructure as well as regarding its public perception, it is particularly relevant to understand how imaginaries impact economic, research, and political agendas, and who is pushing which agenda to the foreground above other potential lines of development. Therefore, this chapter provides an introduction to the concept of imaginaries and offers a critical analytical framework to question AI imaginaries. In addition, it provides an overview of current research on sociotechnical imaginaries around AI and related technological discourses considering relevant stakeholders, media representations and public perceptions of the technology.