Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere. From news, to social media, to agriculture: the longstanding yet increasingly novel technology challenges our understandings of ourselves and our digital world. New technologies, however, carry complex, interwoven, and diverse narratives about their use and meaning. Narratives around AI are particularly complicated due to the ways the technology can and is being used. With perspectives spanning the techno-optimist ("AI will save the world") to the techno-doomist ("AI will kill us all"), it is difficult to pick through the discourse, understand how to interact with AI systems, and figure out what they mean for us. 

"Perceptions" is a project conceived at the University of Tokyo by four international graduate students working in the B'AI Global Forum. Our goal is to provide evidence-based resources and tools for people to better understand the origins, meanings, and role of AI today. The project engages both traditional sociological methods to understand the state of AI perceptions and narratives while also using non-traditional methods such as fine art and writing to access more general audiences. In doing so we encourage those who engage with our content to critically examine the role of AI and new technologies in their lives as well as the many narratives that surround them. 

Our work spans the creative to the sociological. Our goals are to better understand the role of different narratives about AI and equip a general audience with the tools to deconstruct, evaluate, and form their own understandings of AI. 

At our core, we are a research team and seek to provide a research-based approach to the social dimensions of AI. This incorporates interdisciplinary perspectives from media studies, science and technology studies (STS), and sociology. The team is currently conducting research on the role of AI narratives and perceptions of AI among Japanese high school students. For more information, see the Research page.

Beyond the research, our team seeks to engage wider audiences through the use of creative media such as writing and fine art. The team hosted an in-person art exhibition in September 2023 entitled "Perceptions: Reconstructing AI Narratives." In this exhibition, seven artists came together to challenge the dominant narratives around AI while pushing our understanding of what AI can and should be. This exhibition lives on in the virtual form where we continue to challenge visitors to rexamine and reconstruct their own images of AI and its potential. See more on the Virtual Exhibition page.

The team is currently focused on developing both a strong research basis as well as exploring new modes of understanding and challenging AI narratives. If you are interested in joining the discussion, please follow us on Instagram, or send us a message through the Contact page. We'd love to chat!

The "Perceptions" project has been developed under the guidance and support of the B'AI Global Forum at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies. The team is incredibly thankful for the support of the entire B'AI Global Forum as well as the Principal Investigator and her research lab, Professor Yuko Itatsu. 

The team is comprised of four international graduate students who connected as members of the B'AI Global Forum: Alyssa Castillo Yap, William P Guzman, Priya Mu, and Eva Le Ray. All four members are from different countries and cultures, speak different languages, and come from different research backgrounds. The team leverages these perspectives and skills to study the complex issues surrounding AI today. Read more about our members in the Our Members section.