Sociotechnical imaginaries in contemporary Chinese science fiction: Exploring narratives of artificial intelligence in The robot who liked to tell tall tales by Fei Dao and Goodnight, melancholy by Xia Jia

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School of Business | Master's thesis
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Date

2022

Department

Tieto- ja palvelujohtamisen laitos

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Mcode

Degree programme

Information and Service Management (ISM)

Language

en

Pages

127

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Abstract

How we understand the future impacts the actions we take in the present. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the significant defining technologies of our modern times, and the visions and narratives contribute to greater sociotechnical imaginaries, which in turn influence human attitudes and actions regarding matters such as policy making or business strategies. A field once dominated by the “west” is gaining pace with many emerging technologies coming from China. The Communist Party of China (CPC) has put AI at the center of their current “China Dream,” a vision in which China takes the global stage. Simultaneously science fiction (SF) literature has become more prominent in China, with names like Liu Cixin taking on the global stage. In my thesis, I examine whether Contemporary Chinese SF is a valuable tool for understanding Chinese visions of the future. After which, I discuss how current narratives of AI are reflected and negotiated in the Chinese SF works Goodnight, Melancholy by Xia Jia and The Robot Who Liked to Tell Tall Tales by Fei Dao, which have both been translated by Ken Liu. In my thesis, I identify how Chinese SF may provide an avenue to the broader understanding of the sociotechnical imaginary of AI in China and even offer alternative global narratives of AI to the rest of the world.

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Thesis advisor

Rossi, Matti

Keywords

sociotechnical imaginaries, China, science fiction, artificial intelligence, future studies, STS research

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202209185622

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[gradu] Kauppakorkeakoulu / BIZ