Social Subjectivity of Artificial Intelligence: Overview of Discourse Evolution

The aim of the study is to provide an overview of the evolution of scientific views on artificial intelligence in the discursive context of its formation as a subject of socio-managerial relations capable of changing the social world. To achieve this goal, we used the methodological foundations for compiling a narrative review with elements of bibliometric techniques. In total, we selected more than 20 publications in more than 20 peer-reviewed journals. There are four chronological stages in the evolution of discourse, which differ in their problematic and semantic focuses, discussion orientation, and thematic content. In the 1950s and early 1980s, a debate arose in the field of technical sciences about the legitimacy of attributing human qualities to machine technologies. During these years, the concept of artificial intelligence has been consolidated in scientific language. Scientists are raising the question of the ability of computer systems to mimic human thinking and behavior. The period of the mid-1980s – early 2000s was characterized by the expansion of interest in artificial intelligence as a new subject of public relations on the part of researchers from the social sciences, which resulted in the formation of an independent discursive trend in the general discourse related to artificial intelligence. In the next decade, the problem of the risks posed by artificial intelligence in society becomes particularly relevant. Finally, the newest stage dates back to the mid-2010s and is characterized by the understanding of generative artificial intelligence systems in social development, which is associated with the recognition of artificial intelligence as one of the priority areas of development at the state level. It is concluded that there is a connection between the development of artificial intelligence technologies and the evolution of scientific discourse about it as an independent subject of social relations. Discursive development is subject to the dialectical logic of understanding artificial intelligence through the prism of emerging new opportunities and risks for society