AI & Soc (1992) 6:41--49

9 1992 Springer-Verlag London Limited

A | Jl, s o c | i g ' r y

The Imaginary, The Computer, Artificial Intelligence: A

Cultural Anthropological Approach
Mariella Combi
Centro hlterdipartimentale di Documentazione Demo-Antropologica "'Raffaele Lombardi Satriani",
Universit~ degli Studi della Calabria, Calabria, Italy

Abstract. The role of the cultural anthropologist in studying the results of information
technology and artificial intelligence should be to contribute and reaffirm a sense of life
which considers the human being in his or her totality, and to recognize the role of diversity
and the imaginary. Technical revolutions have also proved to be cultural revolutions.
The skills required by one culture, the identification and creation of problems and the
solutions are interrelated. These interrelationships are worked out in a cultural context
endowed with its own experiences, knowledge and needs which define and make it
different from other societies. The advanced technologies require new competences and
new skills.
This paper examines imaginary from two different viewpoints: (a) the imaginary aspect
of body-mind relations, influenced by research into artificial intelligence and its prospects
for the future; and (b) the roles and forms assumed by the imaginary in human-computer
relations.
Keywords: Cultural anthropology; AI; Culture; Cultural diversity; Body-mind relations;
Human-computer relations

I. Historical Development
Cultural anthropology has been exclusively concerned with the study of man and
culture of societies not belonging to the Western world, namely research into the
behaviour and cultural institutions of so-called 'primitive' man. It is only in the
last few decades that this field has widened to include Western cultures. We can
now say that cultural anthropology is the study of human beings all over the
world. This science, therefore, cannot exclude problems which arise out of the
introduction of advanced technologies, whether they are felt consciously or
unconsciously in the Western culture or in any other culture.
The analysis of the man living in the woods or the desert has influenced the
theoretical setting of this science which is named differently in various countries.

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As a consequence of this difference, there are also differences in the theoretical

and methodological approaches. Thus we have 'Social Anthropology' in the UK,
'Ethnologic' and 'Ethnografie' in France, 'Cultural Anthropology' and 'Ethnologic' in Italy. Moreover, this science has moved away from the older study of
folklore. At present many specializations exist according to specific fields of
investigation, such as: psychological, urban, political, economic, symbolic,
philosophical, and so on.
If we accept Leach's (1978) position, contemporary anthropology derives from
three main currents of thought which have their sources in three scientists: Boas,
Durkheim, and Marx.
The first position traditionally related to Boas, regards culture as something per
se, divisible in features which are identifiable and permanent. According to this
perspective it is the task of anthropology to analyse and interpret scientifically the
cultural models present in the clusters of these parts.
The second position, whose source is in Durkheim's thought is essentially
sociological, and is concerned with the structure of social relations revealing the
internal operation of isolated social systems.
The third position, inspired by Marx, acknowledges that 'primitive' groups are
not static systems but subsystems of social, economic and political situations
subject to a continuous change.
The present theoretical setting, resulting from the fusion of the above
approaches, regards all the existing societies, whether traditional or endowed,
with high technology as the object of anthropology. Therefore, the concept of
culture, in the anthropological sense, may be defined as an articulated system of
beliefs, knowledge, regulations, behavioural patterns, values, institutions, ideologies, languages, symbols, techniques, etc., all of which characterize a particular
social group.
Although the cultural system is constantly subject to modifications and
reprocessing brought about by everpresent change, it nevertheless moves
towards internal cohesion. When a human group comes into contact with new
elements it arranges them inside an already existing pattern, thus modifying the
order of what is already known.
The introduction of new techniques, for example, has led to changes which
required readjustment of relations between the various fields of knowledge and
the daily life of both the individual and the group. Technical revolutions have also
proved to be cultural revolutions, as witnessed by the changes wrought by
inventions such as the wheel, the steam engine, etc., and also by the passage from
an oral culture to a written one.

2. Impact on AI Development
Every culture works out its own interpretations of the world outlining the
knowledge, behavioural patterns, activities, skills etc., required of the individual
belonging to that culture. Intelligence also appears to entail preliminary prerequisites which differ according to the cultural context: a "human intellectual

The Imaginary,The Computer, ArtificialIntelligence

43

competence automatically involves a set of skills for problem solving, to enable

the individual to solve real problems or difficulties he or she has encountered, and
if necessary, to create an effective product; this competence must also include the
ability tofind or create problems so as to prepare the ground for the acquisition of
new knowledge" (Gardner, 1978).
It should, however, be borne in mind that the skills required by one culture, the
identification and creation of problems and the solutions, are interrelated. These
interrelationships are worked out in a cultural context endowed with its own
experiences, knowledge and needs, which define and make it different from other
societies. Moreover, the products of human creativity which are consistent with
the 'knowledge' of a certain culture may be totally foreign and irrelevant in
another. One immediately perceptible aspect of this phenomenon is the different
impacts of 'intelligent machines' on different societies.
Advanced technologies represent "what has been identified as the basis of post-

industrial society . . . . creative intelligence, production, information processing,

formulation of problems, and all this by means of specific methodologies for the
creation of abstract theories and simulation models based on systemic analyses",
(Fileni, 1989). These technologies require new competences and new skills from
members of the same society which has produced them. The fact that the
relationship between man and advanced technologies in cultures other than the
post-industrial one may be problematic becomes even clearer.
The discussion here emphasises the importance of knowledge within a cultural
context, so as to ensure that informatics and AI be consciously introduced into
different societies in such a way as to respect different visions of the world.
The introduction of advanced technologies into a cultural context implies also
the introduction of a different knowledge system, a new way of thinking, a new
language, a new fashion of interpreting and establishing an order in the word. In
the long run, all this will bring about some changes in the structure of local
knowledge. It is interesting to understand the modalities of these changes, by
asking the individuals what changes high technology has brought about in their
daily lives and relations with the environment.
Traditionally the realization of an object required an intense involvement on
the part of the individual. Moreover, the material, form and colours of ancient
narratives gave the individual an awareness of belonging to a world and its past.
The relations between human and computer are for most people not of a creative
nature. The computer has already been put together so that the 'contents', the
logical system, may often remain foreign to the user. The computer is bound
more closely to the future of our society than to its past. The type of training
assigned to the producers of advanced technology based on a single specialized
sector of intellectual competence, has also influenced this trend. A pilot survey
conducted by Negrotti (1984) reveals how, until a few years ago, "the cultural and
scientific BACKGROUND of specialists in artificial intelligence is fundamentally
based on two fields of study: 'computer science' and 'mathematics or logic' ". ~A
"great deal of representation of the human communication of knowledge takes
place, however, by means of systems of symbols, systems of culturally excogitated significance enclosing important forms of information. Language, images,
and mathematics are only three of the systems of symbols which have gained

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importance the world over as regards human survival and productivity"

(Gardner, 1987).
I have no intention of denying or underestimating the contribution made by
techno-scientific competences. However, I would like to emphasize the importance of symbolic systems and representations which play a part in the codification
of expectations, competences, needs, and the individual and collective fantasies.

3. Implication for Human-Centred System Design

The range of choices made in different cultural contexts reveals the creativity of
human beings in identifying, interpreting and solving problems of life. The role of
the cultural anthropologist in studying the results of information technology and
artificial intelligence should be to contribute and reaffirm a sense of life which
considers the human being in his or her totality, and to recognize the role of
diversity and the imaginary.
The latter, with its creative force, forms part of the experience of each and all of
us, because "even the most banal experience overflows with symbols, the most
'realistic' individual lives on i m a g e s . . . Symbols do not disappear in the psychic
PRESENT: they may change in appearance, but they remain identical in
function, and it is sufficient to remove the new masks under which they are
concealed" (Eliade, 1980).
This paper examines imaginary from two different viewpoints: a) the imaginary
aspect of body-mind relations, influenced by research into artificial intelligence
and its prospects for the future; and b) the roles and forms assumed by the
imaginary in human-computer relations. This approach, in the most general
sense, enables us to state that "the anthropological approach (consists of) the
constant exchange at the level of the imaginary between subjective and assimilating pulsations and the objective influences of our environment. The imaginary is
none other than the approach whereby the representation of objects allows itself
to be assimilated and moulded by the pulsational needs of the subject, and where
9 . . the subjective representations will express themselves reciprocally through
prior adjustments of the subjects to the objective environment" (Durand, 1972).

4. Proposals for Theoretical Work: The Imaginary, Artificial

Intelligence, The Computer
In most preliterate societies the body was not regarded as an entity separate from
others, but represented the totality of relations. On a symbolic plane, the body is
made up of the same elements that form all living things.
This aspect ensures a continuous recognition of the subsystems which form it,
starting from the symbolic resemblance through which the transfer is made from
one field of knowledge to another. There is no clearcut division between the
individual and the collectivity, between the imaginary and the rational, between
the body and the mind. In the Western society the debate on the global nature of
man, in his mental and bodily expressions has, on the other hand, been strongly
influenced in the opposite direction by the rational. Scientific discussion is

The Imaginary, The Computer, Artificial lntellige

45

considered as the only possible approach. Scientific specialization has created a

fragmented image of man which in the last few decades has been queried by those
who suggest a global perception. From this point of view, AI represents a more or
less theoretical challenge to our world concerning the possibility of achieving a
'duplication', albeit partial, of human mental activity through the simulation of
mental processes.
In the context of the multitude of issues emerging from this challenge of AI, I
would like to refer to some which involve cultural anthropology:
a. The simulation of some faculties of mental activity, and the division between
the mind and the body. The predominant interest of AI in mental processes runs
the risk of seeing the body and the computer as equivalent representations of the
physical. This scientific project arouses reactions which are clearly bound to the
imaginary. Suffice it to recall those books and films of science fiction set in the
societies of the future, where all that remains of the human being is the
development of his brain. The 'superbrains', clad in forms invented by the
fantasies of the authors, wander around in surroundings rendered ascetic and
pure by the very absence of the material nature of the body.
All this recalls the opposite attitude related by an anthropologist-missionary
referring to a conversation with a Caledonian, where the latter maintained that
the new notion introduced into his society was not that of the 'spirit' but that of
the 'body'. I have already mentioned how in preliterate society there existed no
division between the physical and the psychic, the individual and society. With
regard to their representations, "it is not that the individual is not different from
the group to which he belongs, or that bodies are not different from the world
from which they draw their force and sustenance . . . . but rather that they place
this reality on the same intellectual plane and assign to them the same type of
existence" (Aug,, 1980).
Consequently, one of the questions to be asked is whether today we are not
witnessing a new kind of acculturization2 operated by our society towards other
types, and furthermore, whether this entails merely human mental activity or also
a bodily one. This question in turn poses the problem of the most serious dangers
inherent in the use of new advanced technologies, and the images they conjure
up.
b. The probability that man may create an 'intelligent machine' so similar to
something he recognizes as one of his own characteristics may influence both his
perception of artificial intelligence and his perception of himself. Because of their
use as symbols, some objects confer on the wearer or the user the power to
communicate with the gods. With regard to rituals, one of the objects endowed
with this power is often the mask. Only a few members of the group possess
techniques of construction and knowledge of symbols, which confer on them the
privilege of contacting or 'hosting' divinity in their own persons. The object, in
this case, loses its material value and represents forces and powers external and
superior to the creator and the user.
If we take this reasoning even further, the AI project could also give rise to an
interpretation of this type. By producing his own mental activity man performs a
task attributed to the supernatural, and as a consequence, becomes equal to the

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gods. The object thus loses its role of symbolic mediator with divinity to become a
mirror reflecting the absolute superiority of human beings. It should be recalled
that human beings are constantly searching for a place in the world, and
confirmation of their domination over all that surrounds them. We may go on to
add that "instruments and machines do not testify solely to human imagination
and its creative significance, and are certainly important not merely as instruments for the transformation of a malleable earth, they are in themselves
pregnant symbols. They symbolize the activities which they make possible"
(Weizenbaum, 1987). The role of AI research is a perfect example of all these
implications.
This theoretical approach raises questions regarding the identification of the
values underlying the eager acceptance or outright rejection of artificial intelligence. Such images are conjured up in our society by terms such as mind, brain,
soul, body, material, programme, machine and the creator. These terms together
with the 'external' image of the computer create our fantasies of the artificial.
What has been outlined above gives an idea of the complexity and depth of the
problems raised by AI. The direct man-and-computer-relationship in a certain
sense represents a limiting case of the field, in that what is analysed consists of a
defined interaction. Here again a few suggestions are put forward.
1. In any culture the interaction between persons takes place in two planes, one
conscious and the other unconscious. The contribution of information which
every human being supplies to another is complex. It originates not only from
verbal exchange, but also from non-verbal communication (stimulation of the
senses, postures, micromovements, clothing, etc.). All this information reaches
the subject simultaneously and creates a behavioural response presumed to be
appropriate to that particular situation and context. That is to say, each person
transmits to another information about himself or herself, and in turn receives an
image of how the other perceives them. A considerable lack of correspondence
between the two images may often be the cause of misunderstanding in
communication.
The setting for these communicative relations between man and the computer
has fewer types of information. It is of course obvious that sight, touch-gesture
(above all when the mouse and the joystick are adopted) and also the sense of
hearing are useful to set up 'contact' with the machine. The computer, however,
is poor in non-verbal communication.. A relationship is set up mainly in terms of
written language, which is limited and even more serious, in a language that has
been previously established by one of the participants.
In other words, the user is expected to know that particular type of language
with its rules and logical associations, and adjust to these if communication is to
take place and continue to do so.
The existence of a system of signs is not enough to make sense because the
latter is made possible by association with emotion. We learn to make sense of
ourselves and the world that surrounds us by means of emotional experiences
aroused in us by other persons.
This interaction conjures up visual, sound, tactile and olfactory images which
form the basis for the perception of our own bodies. The difference in the quality

The Imaginary, The Computer, Artificial Intellige

47

of the man-machine interaction does not imply the absence of emotional

reactions. Suffice it to think of those times when we realize that it is not possible tO
'reason' with the computer. The computer is indefatigable, and above all
absolutely resolute as regards to its own standpoint, while at the same time
capable of stimulating a variety of feelings in the user.
It is, therefore, a question of identifying the reactions and more generally the
emotional quality of the relationship set up with the computer. Does the latter
transmit to the user an image of itself, and if so, what type of image. Furthermore,
we should ask how the partial reactivity of the computer influences the image man
has of himself. On a more general level, a study should be undertaken of the main
differences between interpersonal communication and the communication
between man and the 'intelligent machine'.
2. Every culture selects, only a few ways of using the body. These exist in the
form of gestures, attitudes and postures, which if shared, facilitate communication. A cultural difference represents a problem when a certain attitude may
have a different meaning, and when the decoding is carried out by the participants
according to their own cultural habits. The decoded message may move even
further away from the desired interpretation often to trigger off opposing
reactions.
This can happen in 'face-to-face' interaction, where the exchange of information is facilitated by the ab!lity to overcome moments of difficulty in
communicating. The relationship with the computer, on the other hand, provides
for an adjustment of man's thought and behaviour towards the machine, since it is
the latter which is predetermined. People who succeed best in adapting are those
in post-industrial societies who have maintained long-term relationship with
increasingly sophisticated machines, which either directly or indirectly, form part
of their experience.
Some of the problems which need to be investigated involve the question:
which images and feelings are conjured up in thos lacking inculturation (i.e. most
of the world's population) with the computer. What are the interpretations
adopted by those unfamiliar with technology to account for 'intelligent
machines', or by those who believe that objects are endowed with 'force'.
3. "Surveys of abilities and skills usually imply the distinction between KNOWH O W (a tacit knowledge of how to perform something) and KNOW-THAT (the
discursive knowledge of the real set of procedures necessary for carrying it out).
. . . although I hesitate to attach any great importance to this empirical
distinction, it is useful to conceive of these types of intelligence mainly as sets of
know-how procedures for doing things. It may be observed that a special interest
in the discursive knowledge of intelligence appears to consist of a particular
choice made in some cultures, which on the other hand, may hold a little or no
interest for others" (Gardner, 1978). The question should be asked regarding the
establishment of the imaginary in relation to the computer, as to the difference
between a know-how and a know-that type of intelligence.
We should furthermore ask ourselves what new abilities and skills required by
post-industrial societies consist of, starting with the characteristics of new
technologies and what changes are to be adopted in our learning systems. 3

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Notes
1. A first survey of the culture of AI members of the research group "lnformatica e processi
culturali', based on interviews with 143 international researchers on AI, published in "Sociologia e
ricerca sociale", Vth year, no. 15, Dec. 1984. The same review also contains "Alcune contrapposizioni della 'Artificial Intelligence Community'. Una nora di ricerca" by Danila Bertasio who
describes the results of later research of the group, and also examines the characteristics of Italian
scholars of AI.
2. The concept of acculturization implies direct and continuous contact between societies with
different cultures and the awareness of changes brought by encounters in both groups. The term
inculturization, on the other hand, refers to processes set up between persons of the same culture.
3. Franco Fileni, concerning the problems of learning new skills, has surveyed videogames as possible
educational tools for the development of cognitive and mental structures in tune with the cultural
development of society.

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Correspondence and offprint requests to: Mariella Combi, Centro Interdipartimentale di Documentazione Demo-Antropologica "Raffaele Lombardi Satriani", Universit~i degli Studi della Calabria,
87036 Arcavacta di Rerde (CS), Italy. Fax: (39)984 464480.