Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Ideology

Nayak, Bhabani Shankar; Walton, Nigel

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Nayak, Bhabani Shankar and Walton, Nigel (2026) Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Ideology. Information Technology & People. ISSN 0959-3845 (In Press)

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Abstract

Purpose
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is embedded with different aspects of social, economic, political, cultural, religious, and technological lives of individuals and their everyday ideological interactions. Ideology continues to be the core of technological innovations and transformations. Therefore, AI is not free from ideological engagements. The paper outlines eleven level of conceptual framework to locate ideological foundations of AI.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper which follows the critical methodological tradition of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), particularly focusing on the concept of ideological interdiscursivity as outlined in the works of Algam and Jameel (2025), to analyse, understand, conceptualise and explain the ideological foundations of AI.
Findings
Through this multi-dimensional analysis, the paper constructs an ideological foundation and conceptual linkage between AI and ideology, offering an eleven-level conceptual framework to critically understand the capitalist ideological undercurrents embedded within AI.
Originality
This paper argues that AI interacts with ideology under two broad categories: essentialist and emancipatory aspects of AI. The essentialist aspects of AI come from its use value based on everyday functionality and requirements, whereas the emancipatory aspect of AI comes from its potential for the progressive transformation of society and the empowerment of individuals. Under these two broad categories, this paper explores the interactions between AI and ideology across eleven distinct but interrelated conceptual levels: abstraction, belief, critique, domination, facilitation, identity, integration, interpretation, process, and power.
Research limitations/implications
The paper constructs an ideological foundation of AI to critically analyse and locate the capitalist ideological undercurrents embedded within contemporary AI systems. In terms of future research, the paper offers an eleven-level framework for understanding and analysing the interplay between AI and ideology across local, regional, national, and international contexts.
Practical implications
In terms of policy implications, practical applicability and relevance, this paper situates itself within the domain of AI governance, ethics and policymaking, with a focus on the ethical and rational use of AI for the greater social good.
Social implications
The essentialist and emancipatory dimensions of AI, along with its ideological foundations, are central not only to understanding the power structures and ideologies shaping AI’s trajectory, but also to developing inclusive, people-centered AI policies that prioritise the well-being of humans, animals, and the planet. This calls for a vision of emancipatory and human-centered AI—an AI that truly serves humanity.