The Machine as Storyteller: Posthumanism, AI-Generated Video, and Disrupted Meaning-Making

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 11:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Exploring Impacts of Human and Technology Interconnectedness

Abstract

The rise of AI video generators like Google’s Veo 3, Runway and OpenAI’s Sora, has led to an explosion of synthetic yet photorealistic videos spreading across social media platforms. These videos often blur the boundaries between real and fake, undermining conventional truth claims and reshaping public discourse. This paper uses visual discourse analysis to examine 20 widely circulated AI-generated videos, focusing on their semiotic features, narrative structures, and platforms of distribution. Framed through a posthumanist lens, the study argues that meaning-making is no longer the sole domain of human authorship. Instead, AI systems have become co-constructors of reality, posing significant implications for knowledge production, political persuasion, and epistemic trust in educational and civic contexts.

Author

• Md Mamunur Rashid, University of Rochester