AI in Contemporary Youth Literature and Film

Examines representations of Artificial Intelligence in contemporary children’s and Young Adult literature and film through a comparative, literary-cultural interdisciplinary framework that combines theory with close readings across global traditions

This edited collection addresses the urgent need to discuss representations and discourses of AI in contemporary children’s and YA literature and film, particularly as young audiences increasingly come of age alongside AI. Aiming to promote critical reflection on the cultural messages conveyed to youth about AI and to equip readers with a basis for the analysis of future works, this volume offers a literary-cultural interdisciplinary perspective, comparative analyses across global traditions, and the integration of both literary texts and films. It combines theoretical insights with close readings grounded in diverse methodologies.

Divided into four sections, these deal with key topics of concern, inquiry, and interest in children’s and YA cultural production related to AI, such as the evolution of AI in youth literature, AI–human relationships, the formation of identity and ethics alongside AI, and AI as a tool for socialization. The chapters engage with theoretical issues and offer analyses of cultural works from the Anglophone world and beyond (including China, Japan, and Russia), authored by researchers at various career stages. In Part I, “The Evolution of AI in Narratives for Young Adults,” Ćoškovič and Xueqi- offer literary overviews of AI–human relationships in Russian youth literature and Chinese adolescent science fiction works, while Hamilton and Piper provide a framework for evaluating AI selfhood. In Part II, “Family and Friendship Dynamics,” Wang and Zhao, Vázquez-Bouzó, Wattad, and Bienhoff discuss AI in literary works and films in relation to kinship, the patriarchal family, motherhood, friendship, and community. The chapters authored by Musgrave, Bristow, and Tsouma form Part III, “Identity and Ethics,” which considers AI in connection with representations of trans* ethics of care, autism, and gender. Finally, in Part IV, “Broken Robots and Socialization,” Meyers and Kim analyze robots’ malfunction in animated films in relation to machine and human intelligence as well as the idea of belonging, while Ito and Boey reflect on AI, relational identity, and neoliberal systematicity. In the Afterword, author Kapur reflects on the preceding chapters and connects them to the broader intrusion of AI into the publishing industry.