Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the structures through which people understand themselves, relate to others, and participate in society. Beyond its technical capabilities and efficiency, AI systems interact with existing social, cultural, and informational structures. By operating within the dominant discourse and reflecting the conceptual and semiotic frameworks of society, AI inevitably contributes to the reproduction and reinforcement of these structures, including prevailing narratives, norms, and patterns of meaning. These dynamics call for inquiry that examines not only what AI does, but how it participates in the circulation of ideas, the shaping of attention, and the structuring of social and cultural life—often in ways that are emergent rather than intentionally designed.

At CASC, we have gathered a team of leading scholars in sociology, media studies, psychology, and philosophy to study AI as a product of formal rationality—a mode of thought that emphasizes calculation, measurement, and optimization, which can abstract from ethical reflection, social context, or human values. Although AI is extraordinarily advanced in its capabilities, it remains a tool—and like any other tool, the moment it fails to achieve its users’ goals or deliver the desired results, it will be replaced by another version of AI. What truly matters, therefore, is understanding how this powerful tool is used, and for what purposes. AI is extremely powerful, yet this power is inherently directionless: its trajectory depends on the goals, intentions, and applications determined by its users. Without critical guidance, it may reinforce existing structures of domination, obscure human agency, and perpetuate social harms. We conceive of AI as analogous to an engine: it generates force and movement, but left unchecked, it has no intrinsic sense of direction. Critical sciences function as the steering mechanism, guiding AI toward socially, ethically, and culturally meaningful outcomes. Through conceptual research, interdisciplinary investigation, and critical analysis, CASC seeks to reveal the underlying assumptions, mechanisms, and social effects of AI systems, illuminating both their possibilities and their constraints in contemporary society.

The Center for AI, Society, and Critique (CASC) was founded to meet this need. Bringing together critical theorists, researchers, and cultural analysts, the center investigates how algorithmic systems influence political judgment, public discourse, emotional life, and collective experience. Our work spans conceptual research, empirical studies, cultural analysis, and public engagement — linking questions of power, manipulation, and social transformation to the everyday realities of technologically mediated life.

We study the structures that govern digital environments, the production of misinformation, the reshaping of attention, the rise of simulated companionship, and the intensification of loneliness in an era of machine-driven interaction. CASC uncovers the hidden logics embedded in AI, revealing how power, ideology, and social hierarchies are encoded into algorithms. Our mission goes beyond surface-level analysis: we interrogate AI’s assumptions, question the dominant technological discourse, and produce knowledge that empowers reflection, accountability, and deliberate societal choice.

Through publications, interdisciplinary projects, and international events, CASC illuminates the forces operating beneath the surface of contemporary technologies and fosters spaces for critical reflection outside commercial and political agendas. Our commitment is simple: to understand AI not only as a set of tools, but as a cultural and ideological infrastructure that shapes what it means to be human today.