Migrants’ Imaginaries and Awareness of Discrimination by Artificial Intelligence: A Conceptual Framework for Analysing Digital Literacy

Abstract

This paper asks what skills migrants need to be able to deal with artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in a self-determined way in their everyday lives. We propose a conceptual framework to empirically identify migrant's awareness and perceptions of possible discrimination through AI. Following Bucher (2017, 40), we argue that by experiencing AI systems in their digital environments, people develop AI imaginaries that shape their attitudes, interactions, and practices with AI. We assume that experiences of discrimination evoke affects, feelings, and emotions that at first glance are not associated with AI technologies. The paper provides relevant research questions that address AI imaginaries. In addition to studying knowledge about and perceptions of AI, research should increasingly focus on users' attitudes towards AI, their evaluations of AI, and their feelings, emotions, and affects related to AI. Subsequently, we elaborate on dimensions of digital literacy based on these AI imaginaries. Finally, we will describe the digital skills that are necessary to confidently cope with discrimination by AI technologies.