What question did this study set out to answer?

To address the importance of AI literacy and critique how language shapes perceptions of generative AI.

May 29, 2026Open Access

Looking Through the Glass Box

Key Points

To address the importance of AI literacy and critique how language shapes perceptions of generative AI.
Reflective analysis of popular and academic discourse on generative AI.
Application of conceptual metaphor theory and critical discourse analysis.
Examination of the Discourse Depot project initiated on October 1, 2025.
Argues that anthropomorphic language misrepresents generative AI's capabilities.
Highlights the gap between AI descriptions and actual workings, emphasizing accountability.
Suggests that clarified language could enhance understanding and responsibility in AI design.

Abstract

"Looking Through the Glass Box" is a reflective essay on critical AI literacy and the founding argument of the Discourse Depot project that began October 1, 2025. It examines how anthropomorphic language in popular, technical, and academic discourse about generative AI attributes thinking, understanding, and intent to systems that perform probabilistic pattern-completion, and argues that this framing obscures the mechanics of these systems and displaces accountability from their designers and deployers. Drawing on conceptual metaphor theory, Robert Brown's typology of explanation, and critical discourse analysis, it treats AI literacy as a practice of reading for the gap between how these systems are described and how they actually work.

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