Qualities metaphors depicted GenAI as unknowable, unreliable and unbounded, with participants unsettled by its opacity¶
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Evidence · 1 study · qualitativer2·q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
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q2 i? Participant metaphors clustered around GenAI as an unknowable, unreliable, unbounded, almost magical force, including distrust of its outputs. → Carmen Vallis 2025
Evidence¶
Carmen Vallis 2025¶
Carmen Vallis, Stephanie Wilson, Alison Casey. (2025). Fear and Awe: Making Sense of Generative AI Through Metaphor. Journal of Interactive Media Education. https://doi.org/10.5334/jime.972
q2 · i? · qualitative · r2
Qualitative analysis of workshop metaphors. Participants were unsettled by the "black box" metaphor emphasising opacity and lack of algorithmic transparency, described outputs as an unreliable "hallucinator, plagiarism machine", and feared uncontrollable spread like "mold" or a "slippery slope".
"Similarly, participant metaphors mirrored much of this discussion, clustering around themes of GenAI as an unknowable, unreliable, unbounded force that was almost magical."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Functions metaphors framing GenAI as an efficient tool for routine and creative tasks were the most agreed-upon in the workshops — related
- Collaborative metaphor workshops helped higher education staff and students make sense of GenAI and raised their awareness of its ethical dimensions — a broader claim this one bears on
- Agency metaphors expressed fear that GenAI steals human agency and threatens jobs, reflecting a binary human-versus-machine model — related
- Students report negative experiences with ChatGPT including inaccurate outputs, lack of emotional connection, and risk of overreliance, which constrain competence — related
- The most frequently cited ethical concerns about GenAI in research were hallucinated facts, fabricated references, and misleading content — related
- Role metaphors positioned GenAI as helper, learning partner, and friend/foe, with a high proportion combining friend and foe — related
- Students spontaneously use language and metaphors of addiction to describe their AI use, framed as loss of control rather than enjoyment — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
qualities-metaphors-genai-unknowable-unreliable |
title |
Qualities metaphors depicted GenAI as unknowable, unreliable and unbounded, with participants unsettled by its opacity |
description |
Qualities metaphors depicted GenAI as unknowable, unreliable and unbounded, with participants unsettled by its opacity |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2025 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-10 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — carmen-vallis-2025 |
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