AI: Evolution or Revolution?

A Sociosemiotic Analysis of the Discourses Between Artificial Intelligence and Work Precarization

Abstract

The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is generating profound debates and conflicting positions on the future of work. This study aims to examine emerging scenarios, current and future, and the implications of discourse on AI and work. Through an analysis of theoretical perspectives and present discourses, we aim to understand how AI is influencing occupational models and the very ethics of work. Many authors talk about it, thus outlining two dominant trends: on the one hand there is often a pessimistic discourse that suggests massive structural unemployment, with a consequent precarization of working conditions; on the other hand, there are speeches that emphasize the potential benefits in terms of efficiency, innovation, and the creation of new job opportunities. These narratives will be analyzed by the tools of semiotics, which provides a valuable theoretical and methodological framework for understanding the symbolic representations and shared meanings that permeate the discourses on AI and work.