IMAGINE - Citizen Perceptions of AI in Everyday Media Life

What do people really think about artificial intelligence?

IMAGINE is a 4-year research project that addresses people's perceptions and folk theories about artificial intelligence (AI). By combining representative surveys and in-depth qualitative studies, the project will explore questions such as:

• What attitudes do the Norwegian population have towards AI?
• What happens to people's perceptions when AI becomes part of everyday media experiences?
• What implications does this have for trust and authenticity – for our perception of living in a shared social reality?

The project is organized into three work packages: 1) Citizen Panels, 2) Case Studies and 3) Conceptualizations. Work package 1 contains the project's surveys, and analyses of both quantitative and qualitative data from these. The second work package contains three different case studies of digital platforms, journalistic news production and an open case that will take shape during the project. In the final work package, the team will work on theory development, further analysis of findings from the first work packages, and communication of results to both academic and wider audiences.

The overall goal of the project is to develop a new understanding of AI based on the experiences of ordinary people. But such an understanding will allow us to better analyze how the spread of AI affects our society and our democracy.

In addition to publishing research results in reputable journals, the project group plans to reach audiences outside academia through reports, events and exhibitions. At a time when both the EU and Norway are implementing new strategies and regulations on AI (see EU AI Act and National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence LINK), IMAGINE's research is an important contribution to ensuring that the experiences and voices of ordinary people are heard.

Partners:

• University of Oslo
• University of Surrey