Abstract
In this article, we shed light on the emergence, diffusion, and use of socio-technological future visions. The artificial intelligence (AI) future vision of the German federal government is examined and juxtaposed with the respective news media coverage of the German media. By means of a content analysis of frames, it is demonstrated how the German government strategically uses its AI future vision to uphold the status quo. The German media largely adapt the government´s frames and do not integrate alternative future narratives into the public debate. These findings are substantiated in the framing of AI futures in policy documents of the German government and articles of four different German newspapers. It is shown how the German past is mirrored in the German AI future envisioned by the government, safeguarding the present power constellation that is marked by a close unity of politics and industry. The German media partly expose the government´s frames and call for future visions that include fundamentally different political designs less influenced by the power structures of the past and present.
Highlights
Artificial intelligence (AI) is widely presented as an emergent technology that is destined to change the rules of society, peoples’ behavior and, the way people perceive life
We argue that the German government strategically uses the German industrial past as a mirror of the German AI future to protect its powerful position as Europe’s leading economy
Considering previous research uncovering the strategic use of envisioned, distant futures (Augustine et al 2019; Inayatullah 2012; Ossewaarde 2017) we expect that the German government outlines a political vision of a German AI future that is marked by the promise of Wirtschaft und Wohlstand via technological development
Summary
Artificial intelligence (AI) is widely presented as an emergent technology that is destined to change the rules of society, peoples’ behavior and, the way people perceive life (cf. Carbonell et al 2016; Caruso 2018; Horowitz 2018; Makridakis 2017). Governments, media, and tech firms exercise a certain linguistic hegemony, in the sense that they enact particular (typically misplaced) metaphors and (typically fraudulent) myths (Rip and Voß 2013; Carbonell et al 2016; Ossewaarde 2019) Such metaphors and myths shape the interpretation of the meaning and significance of AI and AI futures (Floridi 2019; Horowitz 2018; Lauterbach 2019; Ossewaarde and Gülenç 2020). It is communicated that Germany needs to re-configurate its economy (including its workforce), and become Europe’s world leader in AI, as it had been the leader in traditional industrial sectors This distinctively German vision is primarily communicated to the public by the German government and the German media, which are the two leading actors that shape public opinion about the German future of AI. We conclude by discussing the wider implications of our findings for developing an understanding of AI and society as well as for political and media communication on emerging AI technologies
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