The expected AI as a sociocultural construct and its impact on the discourse on technology
Date
2023-11-16
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Abstract
Doktoritöö tutvustab ja kritiseerib tehnoloogiadiskursust, keskendudes tehisintellekti (TI) mõistele. Tehisintellekti-diskursus on eriti küllastunud asjastatud metafooridest, mis juhivad ja piiravad konnotatsioone ja arusaamu tehnoloogiast ühiskonnas. Tehisintellekti diskursuse paremaks analüüsimiseks pakutakse doktoritöös välja mõiste "oodatav tehisintellekt", mis on ajaloolisi ja sotsiaalkultuurilisi konnotatsioone ning arvukaid referentobjekte sisaldav koond-konstrukt. Tuginedes kultuurisemiootikale, teaduse-tehnoloogia uuringutele ning mitmesugustele heuristilistele mõistetele, kaevub väitekiri tehisintellekti diskursuse pinna alla ja avab tehisintellekti varjatud poliitilisi, sotsiaalseid, kultuurilisi ja ökoloogilisi ohte. Diskursus(te) põimumine (teadus)ulme, folkloori, müütide ja religiooniga mõjutab seda, kuidas tehisintellekti ühiskonnas tajutakse, samuti ootusi praegustele ja tulevastele intellektitehnoloogiatele. Doktoritöö pakub välja ka eetilisema ja terviklikuma ontoloogilise mudeli TI-põhiste süsteemide kirjeldamiseks. Mudel kirjeldab süsteeme kui kompleksseid koosluseid, arvestades nende ühiskondlik-materiaalset korrastatust, üleilmset majanduslikku ja materiaalset kujunemist. Samuti arvestab mudel TI-süsteemide mõju keskkonnale, ühiskondlikele institutsioonidele ja semiosfäärile. Doktoritöö näitab, et tehisintellekti ei tuleks mõista mitte ainult kui objekti või sotsiotehnilist süsteemi, vaid kui kogu tooteahela tervikut, mis hõlmab kasutatud ressursse ning nii materiaalset kui semiootilist mõju terve planeedi tasandil.
The thesis introduces and criticizes the discourse on technology, with a specific reference to the concept of AI. The discourse on AI is particularly saturated with reified metaphors which drive connotations and delimit understandings of technology in society. To better analyse the discourse on AI, the thesis proposes the concept of “Expected AI”, a composite signifier filled with historical and sociocultural connotations, and numerous referent objects. Relying on cultural semiotics, science and technology studies, and a diverse selection of heuristic concepts, the thesis delves beneath the surface of AI discourse and demonstrates the hidden political, social, cultural, and ecological dangers of AI. The entanglement of the discourse(s) with (science) fiction, folklore, myth, and religion impacts how AI is perceived and received, as well as the expectations to AI-enabled technologies now and in the future. The thesis also proposes a more ethical and comprehensive ontological model for AI systems. The model describes AI systems as complex figurations, considering their socio-material organisation, global economic-material becoming, and impact on the environment, social institutions, and the semiosphere. The dissertation shows that AI should be understood not just as an object or sociotechnical system, but as its entire product chain encompassing the used resources and impacts (both material and semiotic) on a planetary scale.
The thesis introduces and criticizes the discourse on technology, with a specific reference to the concept of AI. The discourse on AI is particularly saturated with reified metaphors which drive connotations and delimit understandings of technology in society. To better analyse the discourse on AI, the thesis proposes the concept of “Expected AI”, a composite signifier filled with historical and sociocultural connotations, and numerous referent objects. Relying on cultural semiotics, science and technology studies, and a diverse selection of heuristic concepts, the thesis delves beneath the surface of AI discourse and demonstrates the hidden political, social, cultural, and ecological dangers of AI. The entanglement of the discourse(s) with (science) fiction, folklore, myth, and religion impacts how AI is perceived and received, as well as the expectations to AI-enabled technologies now and in the future. The thesis also proposes a more ethical and comprehensive ontological model for AI systems. The model describes AI systems as complex figurations, considering their socio-material organisation, global economic-material becoming, and impact on the environment, social institutions, and the semiosphere. The dissertation shows that AI should be understood not just as an object or sociotechnical system, but as its entire product chain encompassing the used resources and impacts (both material and semiotic) on a planetary scale.
Description
Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsioone
Keywords
AI, technology, public opinion, imagery, anthropomorphism, communication studies, sociosemiotics, technosemiotics