Strategising imaginaries: How corporate actors in China, Germany and the US shape AI governance

Abstract

Corporate actors have been actively shaping the normative framing and socio-material infrastructure related to AI governance. We show how they achieve this by analysing documents from corporate actors headquartered in China, Germany and the US from 2017 to 2023, a pivotal period in the formation of public understanding of the topic. Drawing on conceptual work around ‘socio-technical imaginaries’ and corporate strategic behaviours, the analysis identifies ‘hedging’ imaginaries such as ‘Responsible AI’, ‘Trustworthy AI’ and ‘AI for Good’ through communication and stakeholder-networking as a key strategy used by corporate actors to negotiate socio-political differences and navigate regulatory pressure in their interests. In doing so, we highlight the need for critical reflection on current AI governance discourse in relation to public imagination and the making of future socio-technical orders.