Cross-cultural narratives of weaponised artificial intelligence: Comparing France, India, Japan and the United States

Stories about ‘intelligent machines’ have long featured in popular culture. Existing research has mapped these artificial intelligence (AI) narratives but lacks an in-depth understanding of (a) narratives related specifically to weaponised AI and autonomous weapon systems and (b) whether and how the...

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Main Authors: Ingvild Bode, Hendrik Huelss, Anna Nadibaidze, Tom FA Watts
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2024-12-01
Series:Big Data & Society
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517241303151
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author Ingvild Bode
Hendrik Huelss
Anna Nadibaidze
Tom FA Watts
author_facet Ingvild Bode
Hendrik Huelss
Anna Nadibaidze
Tom FA Watts
author_sort Ingvild Bode
collection DOAJ
description Stories about ‘intelligent machines’ have long featured in popular culture. Existing research has mapped these artificial intelligence (AI) narratives but lacks an in-depth understanding of (a) narratives related specifically to weaponised AI and autonomous weapon systems and (b) whether and how these narratives resonate across different states and associated cultural contexts. We speak to these gaps by examining narratives about weaponised AI across publics in France, India, Japan and the US. Based on a public opinion survey conducted in these states in 2022–2023, we find that narratives found in English-language popular culture are shared cross-culturally, although with some variations. However, we also find culturally distinct narratives, particularly in India and Japan. Further, we assess whether these narratives shape the publics’ attitudes towards regulating weaponised AI. Although respondents demonstrate overall uncertainty and lack of knowledge regarding developments in the sphere of weaponised AI, they assess these technologies in a negative-leaning way and mostly support regulation. With these findings, our study offers a first step towards further investigating the extent to which weaponised AI narratives circulate globally and how salient perceptions of these technologies are across different publics.
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spelling doaj-art-d155867692e141439ffa11498eaa4b262025-08-20T02:52:42ZengSAGE PublishingBig Data & Society2053-95172024-12-011110.1177/20539517241303151Cross-cultural narratives of weaponised artificial intelligence: Comparing France, India, Japan and the United StatesIngvild Bode0Hendrik Huelss1Anna Nadibaidze2Tom FA Watts3 Department of Political Science and Public Management, , Odense, Denmark Department of Political Science and Public Management, , Odense, Denmark Department of Political Science and Public Management, , Odense, Denmark Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow, School of Politics, International Relations and Philosophy, , London, UKStories about ‘intelligent machines’ have long featured in popular culture. Existing research has mapped these artificial intelligence (AI) narratives but lacks an in-depth understanding of (a) narratives related specifically to weaponised AI and autonomous weapon systems and (b) whether and how these narratives resonate across different states and associated cultural contexts. We speak to these gaps by examining narratives about weaponised AI across publics in France, India, Japan and the US. Based on a public opinion survey conducted in these states in 2022–2023, we find that narratives found in English-language popular culture are shared cross-culturally, although with some variations. However, we also find culturally distinct narratives, particularly in India and Japan. Further, we assess whether these narratives shape the publics’ attitudes towards regulating weaponised AI. Although respondents demonstrate overall uncertainty and lack of knowledge regarding developments in the sphere of weaponised AI, they assess these technologies in a negative-leaning way and mostly support regulation. With these findings, our study offers a first step towards further investigating the extent to which weaponised AI narratives circulate globally and how salient perceptions of these technologies are across different publics.https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517241303151
spellingShingle Ingvild Bode
Hendrik Huelss
Anna Nadibaidze
Tom FA Watts
Cross-cultural narratives of weaponised artificial intelligence: Comparing France, India, Japan and the United States
Big Data & Society
title Cross-cultural narratives of weaponised artificial intelligence: Comparing France, India, Japan and the United States
title_full Cross-cultural narratives of weaponised artificial intelligence: Comparing France, India, Japan and the United States
title_fullStr Cross-cultural narratives of weaponised artificial intelligence: Comparing France, India, Japan and the United States
title_full_unstemmed Cross-cultural narratives of weaponised artificial intelligence: Comparing France, India, Japan and the United States
title_short Cross-cultural narratives of weaponised artificial intelligence: Comparing France, India, Japan and the United States
title_sort cross cultural narratives of weaponised artificial intelligence comparing france india japan and the united states
url https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517241303151
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