Diferencias intergeneracionales en el imaginario cultural de la IA asociadas al relato y la iconicidad del cine de animación infantil y juvenil

Alfonso Freire-Sánchez; Jesús López-González; Sergio Rodríguez López-Ros

doi:10.4185/rlcs-2025-2303

Authors

Alfonso Freire-Sánchez Universitat Abat Oliba CEU Spain https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2082-1212
Jesús López-González Universidad Abat Oliba CEU https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5847-5197
Sergio Rodríguez López-Ros Universidad Abat Oliba CEU https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7444-3574

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4185/rlcs-2025-2303

Keywords:

Artificial intelligence, animated cinema, cinematographic imaginary, scientific determinism, robots, socio cultural narratives

Abstract

Introduction: The Trust in Artificial Intelligence: a global study (KPMG, 2023) reflects a bias in the perception of AI among Baby Boomers and Generation X with respect to Millennials and Generation Z. What is the reason for this intergenerational gap? Socio-cultural and contextual elements play a role, as well as the transfer of values that shape the collective Western imaginary to the new generations through the audiovisual media. This cinematographic imaginary is characterized, in part, by scientific determinism and capital arguments related to AI such as the rebellion of machines, otherness and the construction of apocalyptic dystopias. Methodology: Combining the inductive hermeneutic method with film discourse analysis, common patterns are identified in the different socio-cultural narratives. The corpus has been concretized in the 20 highest rated films (IMDB, July 2023) with presence of AI and its application to robotics in animated cinema aimed at children's audiences. Results: The results position animated films for children and young people far from posthumanism and the themes of human vs. machine or the myth of Prometheus. Likewise, the figure of the intelligent robot in children's films assumes the role of friend, mentor or hero. Discussion and Conclusions: Therefore, Generation Z imaginaries are not characterized by an AI that poses a danger, nor the end of the human species or its replacement, but symbolize hope, heroism or companionship. Elements that, according to the discussion of the results, have contributed to widening the gap between generations with respect to the cultural imaginary about AI applied to robotics.

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Author Biographies

Alfonso Freire-Sánchez, Universitat Abat Oliba CEU Spain

PhD in Communication Sciences (UAO CEU). Best Scientific Article Award at the 2nd FlixOlé-URJC Awards for Research in Spanish Cinema. Winner of the Ángel Herrera Award for Outstanding Teaching (2013-2014). Aggregated and Reader (AQU), with a six-year term recognized by ANECA. He was a member of the research team (2018-2022) for the R&D&I Project ‘Making Pain Visible: Visual Narratives of Illness and Transmedia Storytelling’ (VISIBILIZÁNDOLO). He currently serves as the Director of Advertising and PR Studies at Abat Oliba CEU University. His research findings have been published in Scopus, WoS, and SPI. His primary research themes include mental health narratives in the creative industry, audiovisual imaginaries, and narratology.

Jesús López-González, Universidad Abat Oliba CEU

PhD in Humanities (UAB). Award for Best Scientific Article in the 2nd FlixOlé-URJC Spanish Cinema Research Awards. Collaborating researcher in the research projects Comumfutures at CEU Abat Oliba and Greenshooting at Pompeu Fabra University. Producer and audiovisual director with 15 years of experience in the audiovisual sector, collaborating partner of creaRSA SCCL and international volunteer. He has also been associate professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and Universitat Internacional de Catalunya. He is currently Professor of the Department of Communication at the UAO CEU, where he directs the studies in Marketing Management and Commercial Management. His main lines of research are transmedia narratives and social and solidarity economy.

Sergio Rodríguez López-Ros, Universidad Abat Oliba CEU

D. in Philosophy (URL), proposed to the Extraordinary Doctorate Award. Pro-Rector of the UAO CEU, member of the Accademie delle Scienze (IV Sezione - Scienze Politiche e Sociali) dell'Università di Bologna and of the Real Academia de la Historia. He is a consultant for the European Research Executive Agency and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency, both of the European Union. He is responsible for Google's Principled Geogovernance of AI Project and researcher of the Digital Work Transformation Committee of the Pablo VI Foundation and the Social and Ethical Impact of AI Research Group (USP CEU). He is part of the Fundação Rei Afonso Henriques of public cooperation Spain-Portugal. His research areas are the social impact of AI and moral consensus in plural societies.

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