Imagining AI futures in mainstream cinema: socio-technical narratives and social imaginaries

This article offers a critical review of how mainstream cinema constructs futures of AI and normalises modes of governance for those futures. Drawing on scholarship on AI narratives, socio-technical imaginaries, and film analysis, and using an illustrative and replicable corpus of nine feature films...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Valdivia Alonso, Daniel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Universidad Pablo de Olavide (UPO)
Repositorio:RIO. Repositorio Institucional Olavide
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:rio.upo.es:10433/26255
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10433/26255
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Artificial Intelligence
Social imaginaries
Socio-technical imaginaries
AI futures
Mainstrean cinema
Governance
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spelling Imagining AI futures in mainstream cinema: socio-technical narratives and social imaginariesValdivia Alonso, DanielArtificial IntelligenceSocial imaginariesSocio-technical imaginariesAI futuresMainstrean cinemaGovernanceThis article offers a critical review of how mainstream cinema constructs futures of AI and normalises modes of governance for those futures. Drawing on scholarship on AI narratives, socio-technical imaginaries, and film analysis, and using an illustrative and replicable corpus of nine feature films (selected from IMDb with at least 200,000 votes), the article identifies three cross-cutting patterns. First, the dystopian/cyberpunk canon in live action is linked to technopessimistic social imaginaries and has received sustained attention. Second, hybrid futures shift the grammar of threat towards coexistence, especially when AI is integrated into care/management plots and diegetic violence is contained. Third, the rebellious role of AI is associated with representations of AI as independent artificial general intelligence (AGI) and high thresholds of violence, reinforcing socio-technical imaginaries characterised by fear of machine rebellion. Overall, the article provides a sociological reading that links reception, futures, and roles, with implications for AI governance and its social implementation.Springer Nature20262026-02-2520262026-02-0920262026-02-09journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501VoRhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/10433/26255reponame:RIO. Repositorio Institucional Olavideinstname:Universidad Pablo de Olavide (UPO)Inglésengopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Attribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:rio.upo.es:10433/262552026-06-13T12:46:27Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Imagining AI futures in mainstream cinema: socio-technical narratives and social imaginaries
title Imagining AI futures in mainstream cinema: socio-technical narratives and social imaginaries
spellingShingle Imagining AI futures in mainstream cinema: socio-technical narratives and social imaginaries
Valdivia Alonso, Daniel
Artificial Intelligence
Social imaginaries
Socio-technical imaginaries
AI futures
Mainstrean cinema
Governance
title_short Imagining AI futures in mainstream cinema: socio-technical narratives and social imaginaries
title_full Imagining AI futures in mainstream cinema: socio-technical narratives and social imaginaries
title_fullStr Imagining AI futures in mainstream cinema: socio-technical narratives and social imaginaries
title_full_unstemmed Imagining AI futures in mainstream cinema: socio-technical narratives and social imaginaries
title_sort Imagining AI futures in mainstream cinema: socio-technical narratives and social imaginaries
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Valdivia Alonso, Daniel
author Valdivia Alonso, Daniel
author_facet Valdivia Alonso, Daniel
author_role author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Artificial Intelligence
Social imaginaries
Socio-technical imaginaries
AI futures
Mainstrean cinema
Governance
topic Artificial Intelligence
Social imaginaries
Socio-technical imaginaries
AI futures
Mainstrean cinema
Governance
description This article offers a critical review of how mainstream cinema constructs futures of AI and normalises modes of governance for those futures. Drawing on scholarship on AI narratives, socio-technical imaginaries, and film analysis, and using an illustrative and replicable corpus of nine feature films (selected from IMDb with at least 200,000 votes), the article identifies three cross-cutting patterns. First, the dystopian/cyberpunk canon in live action is linked to technopessimistic social imaginaries and has received sustained attention. Second, hybrid futures shift the grammar of threat towards coexistence, especially when AI is integrated into care/management plots and diegetic violence is contained. Third, the rebellious role of AI is associated with representations of AI as independent artificial general intelligence (AGI) and high thresholds of violence, reinforcing socio-technical imaginaries characterised by fear of machine rebellion. Overall, the article provides a sociological reading that links reception, futures, and roles, with implications for AI governance and its social implementation.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026
2026-02-25
2026
2026-02-09
2026
2026-02-09
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv journal article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
VoR
http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/10433/26255
url https://hdl.handle.net/10433/26255
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
eng
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer Nature
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer Nature
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:RIO. Repositorio Institucional Olavide
instname:Universidad Pablo de Olavide (UPO)
instname_str Universidad Pablo de Olavide (UPO)
reponame_str RIO. Repositorio Institucional Olavide
collection RIO. Repositorio Institucional Olavide
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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