Titre : [FORTHCOMING] Artificial intelligence and science fiction: The imaginal world vector of innovation 

Auteurs : Thomas Michaud,  

Revue : Technology and Innovation 

Numéro : Forthcoming papers 

Volume :  

Date : 2026/03/12 

DOI : TBA 

ISSN : 2399-8571 

Résumé : This article explores the influence of science fiction cinema on innovation processes in the field of artificial intelligence. Through the analysis of a corpus of approximately forty films from the 1960s to the present day, the study highlights the evolution of technophobic, technophilic, and ambivalent representations. These fictional narratives act as a “technifying imaginal world,” a concept derived from Henry Corbin’s mundus imaginalis, serving as an interface between the purely conceptual sphere and the realization of technical infrastructures. By imbuing technological mutations with profound meaning, this imaginary contributes to the social construction of expectations and stimulates the ethical reflection of designers. Drawing on Paul Ricoeur’s theory of Triple Mimesis, the article demonstrates that fiction does not merely imitate reality, but rather reconfigures the ethical and praxeological horizon of those involved in innovation. Furthermore, science fiction generates an "imaginal connection," a concept borrowed from Michel Maffesoli, which forges a social, emotional, and communal bond between engineers and scientists. Ultimately, science fiction establishes itself as the mythology of capitalism’s future, transforming both unsettling and wondrous projections into a powerful engine of technoscientific progress. 

Éditeur : ISTE OpenScience