Pilling, F., 2025.

Towards the Legibility of AI Moving Beyond AI Fiction

For viewers, science fiction serves as a vital source of images and representations of science and technology. Films heavily influence our views on technology and have contributed to the confusion surrounding what AI technology signifies. This research also draws on science fiction and technoscience in contemporary films, as cinema and television serve as practical litmus tests for social unease and yearnings. From alien invasions that paralleled Cold War paranoias of the 1950s to contemporary anxieties about creating artificial intelligence that renders humans redundant. This paper provides an ontological overview of AI technology, explores the challenges AI presents, and suggests a designerly approach through AI iconography that transcends the anthropomorphised representations of AI technology.