Dystopian Vision Research Articles

The AI Revolution: A Posthumanist Reading of the (Re)Presentations of Artificial Intelligence in Selected Contemporary Films

Artificial Intelligence (AI) transcends mere technological advancement, taking on profound philosophical, ethical, and cultural significance. This study focuses on the representation of AI in contemporary films, a medium that reflects society’s shifting concerns and aspirations regarding humanity’s relationship with technology. Despite the growing importance of AI in our lives, a gap remains in understanding how films depict AI and contribute to societal discourse on autonomy, ethics, and identity. The study aims to examine key themes in films such as Ex Machina (2014), Her (2013), Blade Runner 2049 (2017), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), and The Matrix (1999), exploring how these portrayals influence our perception of AI. Employing a posthumanist theoretical framework, this study investigates how AI is represented as the “Other” and the ethical responsibilities involved in creating autonomous entities. Methods include a thematic analysis of these films, focusing on how AI characters are depicted and the moral dilemmas presented. Key findings highlight that cinema often frames AI through a lens of human anxieties—particularly around autonomy, ethical responsibility, and identity formation. These films present both utopian and dystopian visions of AI’s role in society, offering diverse perspectives on the implications for human identity and agency. The study concludes that cinema plays a pivotal role in shaping public understanding of AI and its transformative potential, raising critical questions about the future of humanity in an increasingly AI-integrated world. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cinema, Posthumanism, Literary Criticism, Sustainability (SDG 12)

HUMAN NATURE RELATIONSHIPS IN ECOCRITICAL CONTEXT: A STUDY OF WORKS BY J. G. BALLARD AND BARBARA KINGSOLVER

This paper examines the contrasting depictions of human-nature relationships in the literary works of J. G. Ballard and Barbara Kingsolver, focusing specifically on themes of ecological degradation, human agency, and coexistence. Through a detailed analysis of Ballard’s dystopian visions in The Drowned World and The Crystal World, alongside Kingsolver’s narratives of ecological interconnectedness in Flight Behavior and Prodigal Summer, this study highlights the varying approaches these authors take to explore the interactions between humans and the environment. Ballard’s works portray a fatalistic view of the future where environmental calamities dominate, underscoring the consequences of human actions and the inevitable collapse of societal structures. In contrast, Kingsolver’s novels offer a hopeful perspective, emphasizing the possibility of sustainable coexistence and proactive environmental stewardship. By juxtaposing these perspectives, the paper reveals how literature can reflect and shape public perceptions of ecological issues, and argues for the importance of narrative diversity in fostering a comprehensive understanding of environmental crises.

Orwellian paradigm for a geopolitical tripolarity

The geopolitical changes of the past two centuries have significantly altered the international balance of power, resembling Orwell’s dystopian vision in Nineteen Eighty-Four. This article introduces the Orwellian paradigm to forecast future relations among the USA, Russia, and China. It suggests that, akin to Orwell’s paradigm, the interactions among these powers will be shaped by situational interests. Geopolitical balance and interrelations among them indicate a tripolar pattern. Through analogy, this paper compares the Orwellian paradigm with the geopolitical dynamics among the three major powers. The results indicate that tripolarity will persist due to nuclear weapons, potential military conflicts, propaganda, and fear.

Towards a Techno-Hauntological Aesthetic: Immiscible Time and the Spiritual Imagination in Bodyless (Shishenji, 2019) by Huang Hsin-Chien.

This article discusses and explores acclaimed new media artist Huang Hsin-Chien's virtual reality (VR) experience Bodyless (Shishenji, 2019). In this film, through the process of the body illusion or the body replacement program, a component specific to VR, viewers embody the soul of a political prisoner deceased during Taiwan's martial law era. Bodyless juxtaposes Taiwan's traditional spiritual traditions with references to the Ghost Festival () and includes a dystopic vision of the future that appears towards the end of the film. This article establishes, through a close reading of several key sequences of the film, the emergence of a techno-hauntological aesthetic. It creates a dialogue between Huang's dream-like imagery and various interpretation of Bliss Cua Lim's concepts of immiscible time and heterogeneous space. How does Bodyless visually enact, perform, and develop a techno-hauntological aesthetic? How does the artist explore philosophical concepts related to memory, time, and space by using VR?

Dystopian Visions and the Making of Privacy Law

This article explores the role of references to dystopian literature in the context of developing privacy laws. Drawing on a qualitative analysis of a large corpus of legislative and judicial texts from Germany and the United Kingdom, I demonstrate that references to popular dystopian works of fiction like Orwell’s 1984 have animated and shaped the legal recognition of privacy. Specifically, dystopian visions are evoked as reasons that warrant the legal protection of privacy rights. I explore lawmakers’ vision of a technologically empowered totalitarian state and discuss how these connect to historical, contemporary, and hypothetical examples of unjust regimes. I argue that literary imaginations of dystopia are often themselves built on historical experience, suggesting that the aptness for social critique is, as literary critics suggest, built into dystopia as a genre. I furthermore explore how the theme of democracy is employed as a counterpoint to fears of dystopian totalitarianism. Portraying privacy invasions as harmful to democratic ideals discursively amplifies their dangerousness—and thereby works to justify regulatory intervention. My research findings prompt us to view legal norms as a cultural artifact that reflect cultural imagination and literary narratives.

GLOBAL EVIL, TECHNOLOGY, AND THE ALIENATION OF REALITY IN WILLIAM GIBSON’S NEUROMANCER (1984)

This article delves into the intricate relationship between technology and reality within the context of William Gibson’s seminal cyberpunk novel Neuromancer (1984) to verify how the characters’ humanity deteriorates due to the information era’s evil influence. Divided into five sections, the article unfolds by providing an introduction to William Gibson’s work, emphasizing the relevance of investigating technology’s impact on shaping reality in the contemporary era. The second section contextualizes the novel within the socio-cultural and technological landscape of the 1980s, tracing the emergence of cyberpunk as a genre and highlighting key events influencing the narrative. The third section comprises significant concepts from works by Jean Baudrillard, Susan Neiman, Ray Kurzweil, Shoshana Zuboff, Mark O’Connell, among others, establishing a theoretical framework for understanding the intertwining of technology and reality. Finally, the fourth section scrutinizes Neuromancer (1984) through this theoretical lens, examining specific passages that illustrate the novel’s dystopian vision of a world dominated by high technology and populated by a marginalized society. The analysis probes the virtual world, the blurring of reality, and the implications of technology on identity and agency. In conclusion, the article synthesizes key findings, reflecting on the implications for comprehending the contemporary intersection of technology and reality.

To Become an Object Among Objects: Generative Artificial “Intelligence,” Writing, and Linguistic White Supremacy

AbstractThis paper critically explores the implications of generative artificial “intelligence” (GAI) technologies for literacy theory and practice through a case study of the author's use of OpenAI's ChatGPT. The study opens with an overview of recent literature surrounding the pedagogical implications of using GAI with a focus on issues of racial justice, outlining an abolitionist political ecology approach to literacy that extends relational theories of mediation to machine‐aided writing. The framework is then applied to data from a cognitive autoethnography of GAI use over a 6‐month period, which included a digital ethnography of ChatGPT and an extended semistructured “interview” with the GAI chatbot. Racial justice issues were found, especially linguistic and other biases. As such, soon‐to‐be ubiquitous artificial intelligence (AI) technologies require profound reconsideration of the productive value of literacy exploited by GAI, which will inevitably be pursued through an acquiescence or fundamental rupture with the dystopian visions of the technology's creators.

DECODING TAMIL IDENTITY IN AI-GENERATED IMAGERY: LEVERAGING PROMPTS FOR CULTURAL CONTENT ANALYSIS

Artificial Intelligence (AI), as described by Pedro Domingo’s, encompasses technologies like machine learning and neural networks, revolutionizing industries and daily life. Cultural identity, shaped by ethnicity, nationality, language, and traditions, defines individuals and communities, influencing values and behaviours. It fosters a sense of belonging, evolving with societal changes and interactions with diverse cultures. AI's portrayal in cultural representation, spanning media, literature, and art, shapes societal perceptions and expectations of technology, ranging from utopian to dystopian visions. Cultural values and norms influence ethical debates surrounding AI, informing discussions on issues like bias and privacy. Increasingly, AI technologies are adapted to diverse cultural contexts, integrating language, customs, and values into their design to resonate with global communities.This research aims to investigate the portrayal of Tamil cultural identity in AI-generated imagery, employing prompts as a tool for nuanced content analysis. By systematically analyzing AI-generated images through specific prompts designed to capture various facets of Tamil culture, this study seeks to unveil the intricacies, biases, and nuances inherent in these representations. Through a refined analysis framework, the research endeavours to shed light on the cultural sensitivity of AI-generated imagery concerning Tamil culture, contributing to the discourse on cultural representation in artificial intelligence.

Borderscape Antarctica: The uncanny geographical imaginaries of Terra Australis Incognita

The harsh beauty of the Antarctic continent has always fascinated explorers, scientists, policymakers, and global audiences alike. From the 18th century onwards, national expeditions competed to discover and claim Terra AustralisIncognita, the fantastical Great Southern Land believed to be located in the southern Asia-Pacific. This article investigates the worldmaking potential of Antarctica as an uncanny borderscape where humans confront the familiar yet otherworldly ice. I argue this encounter produces a double-sided imaginary of Antarctica as a geography of exception – both as a utopian world elevated above the everyday politics that dominates international relations elsewhere and as a dystopian world where monsters and madness lurk just beneath the icy surface. This double-sided imaginary enabled diplomatic agreement at the 1959 Washington Conference that froze competing sovereignty claims and preserved Antarctica as a frozen laboratory for collaborative science. At the same time, it inspires fears of a potentially thawed Antarctica as a place of horror where alien forces threaten to overwhelm human rationality. Drawing on primary accounts of exploration, archival material, and science and speculative fiction, my intertextual analysis demonstrates how this imaginary was created, represented, and reproduced to create utopian and dystopian visions of our collective planetary future.

Chronic challenges: picturing chronic disease by the World Health Organization

Chronic diseases are among the leading causes of mortality in the world, the subject of major regional and international efforts to tackle shared risk factors, implement prevention and control measures...

Political protest landscapes in Catalonia: language choice, utopian/dystopian discourse and “Catalans”-“Spaniards” identities

ABSTRACT Catalonia has become a rich site to investigate minorised-language identity, with the reemergence of a movement calling for independence. Our case study analyses how pro-/anti-secessionist protests are (counter)-fought in urban Linguistic Landscapes. We approach LLs as identity-markers and place-makers delivering messages of political subversion/dominance where majority/minorised-language choice and utopian/dystopian discourse become crucial for understanding their meanings during social upheaval, with renewed nationalist protests linked to an independence Referendum. We employed a content analysis based on a semiotic/semantic interpretation and thematic categorisation of the data. We show that two antithetical “Catalans”/“Spaniards” identities reemerge which mobilise either utopian projects written in Catalan or dystopian visions in Spanish, through intertextuality. The former, categorised as pro-independence “political resistance LLs,” project a hopeful impossible to extend a liberating possible. The latter, pro-unionist “threats to Catalan protesters LLs,” reinstate order, enforcing the suppression of dissent. This reveals that ethnolinguistic identities are newly reconfigured/resignified, unpacking how a social-semiotics focus on language choice and utopia/dystopia can prefigure social conflict development.

”Your research or my tinkering won’t help”: On (the lack of) Climate Adaptation Imaginaries in the Swedish Arctic

Developing ‘Climate Adaptation Imaginaries’, this paper explores visions of futures in relation to climate change and adaptation in the Swedish Arctic, a region where climatic changes are rapid and pronounced. The analysis draws on interviews with civil servants working with adaptation, fieldwork in the region of Norrbotten in Sweden, and relevant documents. The analysis focuses on future visions and whether, and how, they incorporate adaptation to the climate crisis as a strategy to achieve the vision. Particular focus is given to how adaptation is understood in terms of approach (reactive vs. proactive), aim (incremental vs. transformational) and focus (direct effects, or whether transboundary effects are included). Four different kinds of visions emerge in the material: economic growth coupled with a reactive approach; ‘green’ economic growth with proactive and incremental adaptation; a transformed locally anchored and regenerative society; and finally, a range of dystopia(s). It is only the two visions based on economic growth that are collectively held, materially embedded and hold political influence in the region. A variety of dystopias emerge as the main alternative presented by civil servants. This leaves adaptation guided by at best proactive, incremental and short-term focused strategies, and at worst driven by disparate dystopic visions.

The Dystopian Vision of Control in Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

The Dystopian Vision of Control in Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

Saved by the Moon: Imaginaries of Earthly Afterlife in Space

Today, emergent space technology engages in visions of future off-world colonizing, while conservation technology is employed in ensuring the continuation of life on earth. In this article, we combine social science of outer space literature with biodiversity conservation work to analyze how utopian visions of off-world futures and dystopian visions of earth entangle in technoscientific future-making practices. Our case is the Lunar Ark, which is a proposed technoscientific project for a conservation base to be assembled inside the moon’s lava tubes comprising samples of the earth’s ecosystems. We investigate two interwoven imaginaries involving an imaginary of the Lunar Ark as a “reseeding of earth” and secondly, an imaginary in which the Lunar Ark becomes a platform for “escaping earth.” Based on scientific papers, web material, news articles, an interview with the head of the research group, and ethnographic observations, we conclude that the Lunar Ark engages with a speculative bioeconomy, wherein earth is imagined as an unstable and unfit protector of life. In contrast, the Lunar Ark emerges as a pan-humanitarian and maternal-like technoscientific environment.

Variations on the Dystopian: William James, Ursula Le Guin, and Bernard Wolfe

For over a centurynow, dystopian visions of the future have been an integral part of the strategies through which literature reacts to changes in the world. However, dystopia is not always an entirely new world. Sometimes, it is an element in a world born from a utopian impulse. The article explores the variations of the dystopianin two such worlds influenced by the works of William James: Bernard Wolfe's Limboand in Ursula K. Le Guin's The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas. The analysis adopts the concept of dystopia as utopia’s shadow, and traces the moments when the world, the body, and the language of the Utopian begin to waver and transform into the voice of the Dystopian.

Care-full data, care-less systems: making sense of self-care technologies for mental health with humanistic practitioners in the United Kingdom

IntroductionThe days of dusty couches in therapists' offices behind closed doors are long gone. Now, personalized mood tracking, therapy appointments and breathing exercises are just mere clicks (or taps) away: Technologies for self-care (SCTs) that focus on mental health are both a flourishing industry and an academic field of interest. As societal, and cultural artifacts, SCTs for mental health are imbued with values, worldviews, and assumptions about these concepts by their designers and developers. Here, current SCTs tend to lean toward a more medical(ised) approach due to being shaped by dominant views of mental health as an individualized issue. However, this approach is only one of many potential pedagogies and approaches. As an alternative, we explore what SCTs for mental health could be like, from a humanistic, person-centered standpoint: We conceptualize mental health in holistic terms, as an experiential quality of everyday life.MethodsTo this end, we report on two engagements with humanistic practitioners and the person-centered approach as a guiding principle: First, we ran a workshop informed by the Rogerian “encounter group”. This approach is focused on providing the space to meaningfully meet and relate to people. Inspired by this concept, we brought together humanistic practitioners to openly explore what technology for (self-)care means for them. Second, we build on the insights from the aforementioned study by organizing an asynchronous, online whiteboard for humanistic practitioners—counselors, students-in-training, therapists, and researchers—to explore their utopian, realistic and dystopian visions of SCTs.ResultsThrough thematic analysis and affinity-clustering these engagements, we construct an understanding that technology within a person-centered, humanistic context is a constrained, ambiguous undertaking, yet also one full of potential.DiscussionWe conclude the paper by sketching out three design opportunities for how the person-centered approach, and humanistic psychology in general could be integrated into caring technologies.

Moderland utan kvinnor: kast, klass och patriarkat i Manish Jhas Matrubhoomi

This article offers a critical analysis of Manish Jha’s debut feature film Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women (2003). The movie offers a dystopic vision of a near future when the systematic killing of new born females would leave villages and its surroundings with no women in it at all. Referring to this phenomenon as ‘bachelor villages’, scholars have identified this as an emerging social problem with wide far-reaching implications for gender relations and social life in general. Existing scholarship has highlighted how the shortage of women leads to increasing levels of violence embodied in practices such as polyandry, child marriage, rape, trafficking and kidnapping of women from neighbouring regions. Furthermore, the film articulates a central paradox: the symbolic deification of the ‘mother of the nation’ in national imaginary and her systematic elimination through sex-selective reproductive technologies. In our close reading, we draw on feminist political economy to understand the power dynamics shaped through the intersections of gender, class and caste and how this transforms the social fabric in a village which has systematically eliminated women and girl-children. We combine a thematic analysis with a reading of Matrubhoomi’s cinematic features. Furthermore, the violence in the film is analyzed through what we call ”economies of violence” which is related to the paradoxical development trajectory in India. While the Indian government has initiated several schemes for the empowerment of women, these progressive processes are often accompanied by escalating violence against women, which cannot be abstracted from cultural configurations of gendered practices of son preference and sex selective abortions. We highlight the pivotal theme of remasculinization as constructed in relation to patriarchy, caste, class and sexuality and how it functions as a vector for economies of violence. We suggest that the film illustrates how a seemingly feminist agenda can be formulated from the position of a patriarchal, heteronormative, homophobic and transphobic logic.

Digital utopia and dystopia of schools after the COVID-19 pandemic

This paper aims to capture the digital imaginaries of Hungarian schools through the lens of digital utopianism as a theoretical framework. Employing a qualitative research approach and semi-structured interviews, this study contributes to the body of literature concerning organizational and policy-level educational management. It investigates utopian and dystopian visions of digitalized schools within the Hungarian education system, featuring participants comprising school leaders, teachers, and administrative staff drawn from five institutions, offering either general or vocational education, representing diverse ownership structures, including state and religious ownership. The study highlights prominent themes of the imaginaries, such as funding and infrastructure, equity, misuse, and social and pedagogical relations and suggests further research directions and methodologies applicable in this field.

A Brave New World: AI as a Nascent Regime?

This transdisciplinary discussion draws parallels between Aldous Huxley's dystopian vision in his novel 'Brave New World' and the current era dominated by Large Language Models (LLM) and Generative Artificial Intelligence, scrutinizing its significant implications and potential effects. It explores how AI can influence human behavior, reshape societal norms, and potentially lead to the homogenization of linguistic expression. Highlighting the risks of unregulated AI-driven tools, the discussion stresses their potential to standardize and diminish the richness of human language, creativity, and authentic expression. The transformative potential of AI across various domains is recognized, with a strong emphasis on ethical considerations, democratic governance, and preserving core human values. Using 'Brave New World' as a literary framework, it advocates for a transdisciplinary dialogue to critically evaluate AI's impact on social ethos, logos, and pathos. The discussion underscores a global collective responsibility to utilize AI to enrich shared human experiences without compromising the nuances that define our identity and autonomy. It addresses the consequences of uniformity and stability, the role of technology and consumerism, emotional experiences, deep relationships, personal growth, and the threat of totalitarian control, with AI emerging as a nascent regime powered by opaque algorithms implemented by transnational, global companies. Serving as both a reflection on humanity's role in an automated age and a call to action, it advocates for a technological deployment that enhances, rather than diminishes, our inherent humanity.

Where have all the monsters gone?

Monsters have been rehabilitated in popular culture, moved from the realm of the truly monstrous to the world of neoliberal ‘sameness’. The zombies of In the Flesh and the vampires in True Blood, as only two examples of this trend, have lost their monstrous edge and have come to represent different ways of being human. While some discussions of this reimagined monster describe the weaving of monsters into mainstream culture as a way of acting out discourses of inclusion, I argue here that contemporary narratives that focus on monsters as metaphors for difference and inclusion are, ultimately, not providing a vision of a utopian world of equality. Instead, these representations are enacting a dystopian vision of a neoliberal social order that demonstrates a fear of true or radical difference.