We are talking about AI completely wrong. Here’s how we can correct the narrative

Artificial intelligence (AI) is not just data, chips and code – it is also the product of the metaphors and narratives we use to talk about it. The way we represent this technology determines how the public imagination understands it and, more broadly, how people design it, use it, and the impact it has on society at large.

Worryingly, many studies show that the dominant depictions of AI—anthropomorphic “assistants,” artificial brains, and the ubiquitous humanoid robot—have little basis in reality. These images may appeal to companies and journalists, but they are rooted in myths that distort the nature, capabilities and limitations of current AI models.

If we portray AI in a misleading way, we will have difficulty truly understanding it. And if we don’t understand it, how can we ever hope to use it, regulate it, and make it function in ways that serve our common interests?

The Myth of Autonomous Technology

Distorted representations of AI are part of a…