Institute for Sociology
Topic
Technology, ideology and power: concepts of today and images of the future in the discourse of AI leaders
PhD. program
Year of admission
2026
Name of the supervisor
Mgr. Dominik Želinský, PhD.
Contact:
Receiving school
Filozofická fakulta UK
Annotation
The dissertation will focus on the ways and strategies by which technological leaders in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) formulate their political and economic goals and how they shape the image of the (imaginary) future and their place in it. Through a qualitative analysis of public statements by globally relevant figures in AI development (for example, Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg and others), it will analyze how these leaders formulate the significance of AI for social development and through what discursive and symbolic means they articulate arguments legitimizing their growing political influence, economic interests and ideological beliefs. What is their idea of society and their own role in it? Based on this qualitative analysis, the thesis will subsequently confront these findings with the experiences of actors and employees in the AI sector in Slovakia and, through interviews, examine how the ideas formed at the core of AI development (or formulated by key figures) are reflected on the semi-periphery of technological and ideological development. Conceptually, the work draws on cultural sociology, critical theories of technology and society (including feminist political economy), and science and technology studies. The research aims to deepen understanding of the relationship between technology, ideology, and social power/influence in contemporary society and to further develop this understanding in the context of the relationship between center and semi-periphery.