Abstract
For viewers, science fiction serves as a vital source of images and representations of science and technology. Films heavily influence our views on technology and have contributed to the confusion surrounding what AI technology signifies. This research also draws on science fiction and techno science in contemporary films, as cinema and television serve as practical litmus tests for social unease and yearnings. From alien invasions that paralleled Cold War paranoias of the 1950s to contemporary anxieties about creating artificial intelligence that renders humans redundant. This paper provides an ontological overview of AI technology, explores the challenges AI presents, and suggests a designerly approach through AI iconography that transcends the anthropomorphised representations of AI technology.
Keywords
AI; Legibility; Science Fiction; Artificial General Intelligence
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.1043
Citation
Pilling, F.(2025) Towards the Legibility of AI: Moving Beyond AI Fiction, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.1043
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 2 - Design Futuring
Towards the Legibility of AI: Moving Beyond AI Fiction
For viewers, science fiction serves as a vital source of images and representations of science and technology. Films heavily influence our views on technology and have contributed to the confusion surrounding what AI technology signifies. This research also draws on science fiction and techno science in contemporary films, as cinema and television serve as practical litmus tests for social unease and yearnings. From alien invasions that paralleled Cold War paranoias of the 1950s to contemporary anxieties about creating artificial intelligence that renders humans redundant. This paper provides an ontological overview of AI technology, explores the challenges AI presents, and suggests a designerly approach through AI iconography that transcends the anthropomorphised representations of AI technology.