AI Object/Case Study - Mythical/Narrative/Historical Dimensions
Select your AI object/case study (you might already have one in mind that you've cleared with me, or you can use this list to select one). Now consider the questions below. Take 30 minutes to write a response to them. If/as needed, take 30 minutes to skim resources online and to draw them into your response:
- What is collectively known/imagined about your case study/object? What role does it play in contemporary imaginaries? In fantasies (or nightmares)? What kinds of national narratives make use of it? How does it appear in entertainment? What other grand narratives, stories, and strong associations involve it (e.g., progress, risk, joy, fear, revolution, militarism, success, decline, horror, self-improvement, financial security, family security, independence, adolescence, origin stories, stories of difference, privilege, death, pornography, sports)?
- What are the "official" histories embedded in/around your object? What is generally known about how it was invented, when and by whom? Are there different and competing versions of its histories? Who tells or gets to "see" these histories? Who gets to shape it? How has it traveled historically? How do these help constitute it? What other grand narratives make reference to it and how do such references matter?
- Pick one image or link that your found compelling that represents your object/case study. Include that link in your writeup.