The AI Perspective: An Examination of Human and Artificial Co-Existence in North American SF Discourse

Dissertation

The AI Perspective: An Examination of Human and Artificial Co- Existence in North American SF Discourse

Located at the intersection of literary and cultural studies, critical posthumanism, the ethics of artificial intelligence, philosophy of mind, and media studies, the dissertation project examines how literary, public, and scientific discourses depict differentiated understandings of AI. It examines how human and AI coexistence is portrayed in contemporary science fiction literature, and how these representations challenge anthropocentric norms in favour of a more posthumanist approach. This research looks at science fiction novels that depict different forms of AI that challenge anthropocentric notions of knowledge, consciousness, communication, rights and morality, to show how literature can be a medium for debate and a form of exploration of different knowledge-making approaches.