Revisiting From Cliché to Archetype for artistry in addressing artificial intelligence in media ecology and managing change

Abstract

This article goes back to McLuhan and Watson’s book From Cliché to Archetype, in its respective editions, regarding artistic recognition and treatment of media effects. It examines the core aspects of these texts as well as related Explorations in Media Ecology articles that help explain key aspects more clearly. The narrative relates these parallel constructs to those employed in information technology change management impact assessment. It situates these matters in terms of Bolter’s Digital Plenitude. The article presents a framework for combining these ideas and applying them in initiating an investigation of artificial intelligence academic use. This schema suggests tools that foster scholar and practitioner collaboration to better deal with an increasingly digitized environment. This article balances on the line between the theoretical and the pedagogical coming together in its final section to suggest a specific way to proceed in preparing for the next phases of the digital era.