New publication: “A tale of two controversies: situated AI frictions and the generative AI tsunami”

A new article co-authored by Prof. Christian Katzenbach and international colleagues has been published in AI & Society. Analyzing AI controversies across four countries between 2012 and 2022, the study reveals a major shift from "deep", situated AI frictions to "wide", abstract controversies surrounding Generative AI.

We are happy to share that a new article titled “A tale of two controversies: situated AI frictions and the generative AI tsunami” has been published in AI & Society. The paper is co-authored by Chiara Poletti, Noortje Marres, Donato Ricci, our lab head Prof. Christian Katzenbach, Lena Marie Henkes, and Guillaume Dandurand.

Based on an international expert consultation across the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Canada, the study analyzes how public debates about Artificial Intelligence evolved between 2012 and 2022. The authors identify a major shift in public discourse, moving from early “situated AI frictions”, localized, context-specific problems like recommendation algorithms or image recognition, to generalized and abstract debates surrounding Generative AI, such as ChatGPT.

This transition highlights a critical takeaway for democratic accountability. While situated frictions engage specific communities with clear stakes in technology deployment, the diffuse nature of Generative AI debates presents new and complex challenges for democratic governance and policy-making.

Read the article here: Poletti, C., Marres, N., Ricci, D. et al. A tale of two controversies: situated AI frictions and the generative AI tsunami. AI & Soc (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-026-03141-3