Imaginaries of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is considered a key technology in contemporary societies. Discursive and public imaginations play a pivotal role in envisioning and determining the trajectories of AI and its integration into 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. Therefore, this chapter introduces the concept of imaginaries and offers a critical analytical framework to question imaginaries of AI. 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.