Techno-Ideologies, Imaginaries, & AI Resistance: Toward A Cross-National Comparison
How Societies Imagine, Contest, & Resist Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how people imagine the future, interact with technology, and understand their place in an increasingly automated world. Yet alongside widespread enthusiasm, AI also generates deep skepticism, critique, and resistance. This project, led by Assistant Professor Zhifan Luo, examines these tensions to better understand how societies construct, contest, and negotiate the meaning of AI – and why these interpretations matter for shaping equitable and responsible technological futures.
Focusing on Canada, the United States, and China, the study investigates three interconnected dimensions:
- Public perceptions of AI, including active skepticism and resistance to its use
- Techno-ideologies promoted by the AI industry, such as Silicon Valley’s narratives of innovation and inevitability
- Future imaginaries, or the cultural visions that shape how people anticipate AI’s role in society
Through surveys and interviews, the project offers a comparative analysis of how AI is understood across different political and cultural contexts. By highlighting diverse global perspectives, the research challenges Western-centric assumptions in critical AI studies and contributes to the decolonization of knowledge production (Liu & Luo 2025). These insights are essential for informing policy, guiding ethical development, and understanding how cultural and political forces shape public trust in emerging technologies.
Relevant Publication
- Liu, Chuncheng, and Zhifan Luo. “China as an analytical lens for AI and society.” Big Data & Society 12.4 (2025): 20539517251389844.
Researcher
Zhifan Luo
PhD
Assistant Professor, Sociology
Assistant Professor, Wilson College of Leadership and Civic Engagement