Jul 2026· Advances in Education, Humanities and Social Science Research· Vol 17, pp. 700· 0 citations· 17 references
TL;DR
Analysis of AI-generated cute pet short videos and valid user comments published on Douyin reveals that continuous interaction and negotiation among these actors have established a complete closed-loop mechanism integrating technological supply, platform governance, and user feedback.
Abstract
With the rapid diffusion of generative AI-based short-video technologies, AI-generated cute pet videos have emerged as a representative medium through which the public’s technological anxiety surrounding artificial intelligence is alleviated by means of healing visual symbols. These videos also provide a valuable lens for observing public perceptions of AI and the formation of collective sociotechnical imaginaries. Existing studies on AI-generated content (AIGC) in the entertainment industry have primarily focused on industrial production, content governance, and user experience, while paying insufficient attention to how sociotechnical imaginaries of AI are co-constructed through interactions among multiple stakeholders. Drawing upon Sheila Jasanoff’s theory of sociotechnical imaginaries, this study analyzes 398 AI-generated cute pet short videos and 4,358 valid user comments published on Douyin. Employing multimodal discourse analysis, the study codes and interprets the discourses of three key actors: technology companies, short-video platforms, and ordinary users. The findings reveal that continuous interaction and negotiation among these actors have established a complete closed-loop mechanism integrating technological supply, platform governance, and user feedback. Through this dynamic process, they collectively construct an AI imaginary that is closely aligned with everyday entertainment experiences and centered on emotional resonance.
This study shows AI enables a cohort of “Internet entrepreneurs” to enter cultural production, driven by a “money hustling culture” that encourages formerly idle and low-skilled individuals to pursue rapid monetisation.
Jiaru Tang, Xiaoting Yu, Patrik Wikström et al.· AI & SOCIETY· 0 citations
AI is increasingly embedded in government, yet its meanings and implications remain contested and often misunderstood. Science fiction is an important yet underexplored source shaping public understandings of AI by generating collective imaginaries through polarized narratives. This paper introduces a typology structured along three axes: scale of governance (micro, meso, macro), type of AI (robotic, conversational, algorithmic), and narrative role (helper, subject, opponent). We apply the typology to 76 films and 68 reflective essays from university students. Findings reveal an overrepresentation of conversational, antagonistic AI at micro and meso scales in fiction whereas participants overrepresent algorithmic AI at the macro scale. The findings reveal convergences and divergences that expose forms of sociotechnical blindness in how AI in government is imagined. The study contributes to research by offering a theoretical lens to analyse fictional AI narratives, comparing representations and perceptions, and introducing cultural artefacts to study AI in government.
Lisa Dewulf, Anthony Simonofski, N. B. Rosselló et al.· EGOV-CeDEM-ePart 2026· 0 citations
This systematic review successfully formulated a macro synthesis regarding the convergence between generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology and digital storytelling in transforming contemporary social studies pedagogy. Based on mapping results from a global literature corpus, it was found that the typology of AI utilization in social studies learning has radically evolved from a linear text processing tool to a complex multimodal co creation ecosystem. In this new ecosystem, students retain full control over the simultaneous integration of text, audio, and visual components. Mechanically, this intelligent technology integration has proven effective in eliminating various technical barriers inherent in conventional digital media creation. Eliminating these procedural-mechanical constraints successfully shifts students' cognitive load toward higher order thinking skills, such as critical analysis of civic issues and data validation to accelerate civic literacy. Furthermore, in the affective impact dimension, digital narratives generated through AI emotional stimulation have been shown to trigger a powerful narrative transportation effect. This psychological engagement has been empirically proven to undermine student apathy, foster perspective-taking, and foster a deeper awareness of social inequality issues as a manifestation of social justice awareness.
I. Ratnani, Beny Wijarnako Kertopati, Sri Wahyuni· International Conference on...· 0 citations
This article examines a novel form of AI-enabled creative digital communication content, termed softfake, which has emerged alongside the rapid diffusion of generative artificial intelligence across contemporary communication ecosystems. The study conceptualises softfake as a distinct communicative form and a creative artefact, co-produced through human–AI collaboration and designated to mediate presence, voice and authenticity in digital contexts. Drawing on a systematic review of media coverage, social media discourse and peer-reviewed literature, the article analyses illustrative cases of AI-generated video, audio and visual content used in strategic communication, branding and political campaigning in 2024. Building on an existing body of knowledge on deepfakes and cheapfakes, the study proposes a definition of ‘softfake’ as professionally produced, AI-generated content that intentionally conveys an authentic message from an individual or organisation created with their consent but without their direct engagement. By positioning softfakes as a new genre of creative communication, the article contributes to emerging debates on human–AI co-creation, mediated authenticity and the evolving nature of communicative authorship. The findings further identify key ethical boundaries governing the usage of softfakes, emphasising transparent labelling, organisational accountability and alignment with ethical AI principles. Beyond electoral communication, the study highlights broader societal and business implications, including applications in brand communication, organisational storytelling and influencer-led content creation. Overall, the article advances the conceptual understanding of how generative AI is reshaping creative communication practices, offering a foundation for future research on AI-enabled co-creation, communication governance and cultural meaning-making in digital environments.
Nikolina Ljepava, Anna Tarabasz, Marko Selaković· Journal of creative communic...· 0 citations
Platform societies already shape how users communicate, participate, and become visible. The rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), through systems such as ChatGPT and Grok, may further deepen these dynamics, introducing new and fundamental challenges to freedom of expression, including questions of authorship. However, despite the expanding reach of this technology, research on how users understand of GenAI’s influence on expressive freedom remains scarce. To address this gap, we conducted in-depth interviews with active GenAI users on the social media platform X, focusing on their experiences and reflections on using the technology in the context of freedom of expression. Using thematic analysis and the concept of GenAI imaginaries, we identified five imaginaries: (1) Pragmatic Tool, (2) Knowledge Authority, (3) Hybrid Speech, (4) Power Struggle, and (5) Ethical Issues. Together, these imaginaries show how participants make sense of GenAI’s role in changing how speech and expression are produced, constrained, and made visible. Participants imagined expressive freedom as being shaped by guardrails and content restrictions, trust and misinformation concerns, ethical issues, and automated content creation In particular, the Hybrid Speech imaginary illustrates how human and AI-generated expression increasingly intertwine, challenging the idea of speech as solely human-authored and raising questions about speaker autonomy, authorship, and accountability in public debate. Our findings contribute to debates on AI governance and freedom of expression by showing how users themselves understand GenAI as reshaping authorship, visibility, and expressions.
P. B. Brandtzaeg, Xi Wang· AI & SOCIETY· 0 citations
Artificial intelligence's integration into daily life has brought with it a reckoning on the role such technology plays in society and the varied stakeholders who should shape its governance. This is particularly relevant for AI‐generated, or synthetic, media, an emergent visual technology impacting perceptions of media as records of reality. Studying the stakeholders governing synthetic media is vital to assessing safeguards that help audiences make sense of content in the AI age; yet little qualitative research examines how actors from civil society, industry, media, and policy conceptualize, develop, and implement such practices. This paper addresses this gap by analyzing 23 semi‐structured interviews with stakeholders governing synthetic media alongside real‐world cases of multistakeholder synthetic media governance. Inductive coding reveals how temporal perspectives—spanning past, present, and future—mediate multistakeholder governance of synthetic media. Analysis also illustrates the critical role of trust, both among stakeholders and between audiences and interventions, as well as the limitations of technical transparency measures like AI labels for supporting effective synthetic media governance. These findings inform literature on multistakeholder AI governance through rare insight into such processes, while also supporting the practical design of synthetic media policy that serves audiences.
Claire R. Leibowicz· Policy & Internet· 2 citations
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