Imagining AI

In this keynote, Kanta Dihal (Imperial College London) explores how cultural narratives shape the design, governance, and social meanings of artificial intelligence. Drawing on cross-cultural research and the volume Imagining AI: How the World Sees Intelligent Machines, the talk examines how dominant Western imaginaries of AI as a threat have spread globally, often eclipsing local traditions. By contrasting these with alternative visions of intelligent machines as cooperative or benign, the keynote highlights the role of imagination in fostering more just and culturally grounded approaches to AI.