Research paper

Mapping the Unmapped: A Structured Atlas of Human Futures with Artificial Superintelligence and the Cultural Visibility Hypothesis

Author: Aleksandar Stojanovic
Affiliation: DARI Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland
Correspondence: aleks@dari.earth
Status: May 2026

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Abstract

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence toward artificial general intelligence (AGI) and potentially artificial superintelligence (ASI) has generated a vast, fragmented, and often contradictory discourse about humanity’s future. This discourse spans academic research, policy documents, industry publications, online communities, and popular culture, but no systematic attempt has been made to catalogue, classify, and compare the full spectrum of scenarios being proposed.

This paper presents the SuperFutures Scenario Atlas, a structured taxonomy of 55 distinct scenario families for the human–ASI relationship, each classified across identity, type, mechanism, time horizon, human position, twelve societal impact domains, discourse map, pop culture footprint, and audience resonance. Drawing on established foresight methodology, the atlas treats scenarios as exploratory tools rather than predictions, and as a tagged graph rather than a mutually exclusive taxonomy.

The paper makes two original theoretical contributions. First, the Cultural Visibility Hypothesis (CVH): the proposition that public perception of AI risk is driven primarily by cultural representation in film, television, and literature rather than by expert assessment of plausibility. Scenarios with high pop culture footprints (rebellion, extinction, surveillance) are systematically overestimated by the public, while scenarios with low cultural visibility but high expert plausibility (institutional lag, gradual integration, algorithmic capitalism) are systematically underestimated.

Second, the theory of Scenario Reflexivity: the mechanism by which belief in a scenario generates behavioural patterns that make the scenario materially more probable. Drawing on Merton’s self-fulfilling prophecy, Callon and MacKenzie’s performativity, and Soros’s reflexivity, we demonstrate through five illustrative cases that AI future scenarios are not merely predictions to be evaluated but performative propositions that shape the conditions of their own realisation. The complete causal chain runs Culture → Belief → Behaviour → Reality → Culture, and the atlas is designed to make all four elements of that loop legible at once.

Implications for AI governance, public communication, and foresight methodology are discussed - including the mechanism of Democratic Amplification, whereby culturally distorted public perception is converted into distorted governance priorities through the electoral process. The atlas is offered as a living, public research and engagement resource.

Keywords

artificial superintelligence
scenario planning
foresight
AI governance
cultural visibility
risk perception
pop culture
public engagement
scenario taxonomy

Section guide

The full argument is in the PDF. Here’s what each section does.

Introduction

Positions the paper against the fragmented AI-futures discourse, names the major intellectual traditions the atlas maps, and previews the contributions - the atlas, the Cultural Visibility Hypothesis, and the theory of Scenario Reflexivity.

Literature Review

Reviews scenario-planning methodology (Kahn, Wack, Schwartz, van der Heijden, Wilkinson & Kupers), the AI-futures discourse traditions, and prior work on popular culture and technology perception (Slovic, Kahneman & Tversky, Weart, Turney, Cave et al.).

Methodology

Six atlas design principles (breadth, structured classification, non-exclusivity, separation of functions, transparency, systematic cultural mapping); the four-layer scenario-identification process (canonical, active, engagement, cultural discourse); the taxonomy fields; and the cultural-visibility rating scale.

The SuperFutures Scenario Atlas: Overview

Describes the 55 scenario families, groups them into loose clusters for orientation only (acceleration, governance, dystopian, metaphysical/posthuman, realist/structural), and reports the distribution of key classification variables - scenario type, time horizon, and human position.

The Cultural Visibility Hypothesis, Scenario Reflexivity & Democratic Amplification

§5.1–5.3 state the CVH and present qualitative evidence: the overestimation pattern (Extinction, Surveillance, AI Consciousness) versus the underestimation pattern (Institutional Lag, Invisible Infrastructure, Algorithmic Capitalism, Managed Coexistence). §5.4 introduces Scenario Reflexivity - a three-stage feedback loop (belief formation → belief-driven behaviour → behavioural aggregation) illustrated with five cases (transhumanist enhancement, post-scarcity/UBI, e/acc, surveillance singularity, extinction risk). §5.5 introduces Democratic Amplification - the specific institutional mechanism (elections) by which cultural distortion becomes governance failure - and canvasses three institutional-design responses.

Discussion

Five contributions to the literature (atlas, CVH, Scenario Reflexivity, Democratic Amplification, pop-culture mapping as a standard taxonomic field); relationship to Bostrom / Drexler / the Leverhulme Centre / the TESCREAL critique; the self-referential problem of a meta-analytical atlas that is itself a cultural product; and §6.4 on Civilisational Scope - the structural bias of a Western-constructed atlas and the six non-Western traditions (Confucian, Russian Cosmism, Hindu/Buddhist, Islamic, Ubuntu, Shinto) a planned expansion round will build partnerships around.

Limitations and Future Work

Cultural-visibility assessment is qualitative and awaits a quantitative Cultural Visibility Index; public-perception data is indirect and awaits a cross-national survey; Anglo-American and Western structural bias will be addressed by partnered scenario construction and taxonomic adaptation (not just added content); scenario boundaries are contested; and any published version is a snapshot of a rapidly moving discourse.

Conclusion

The atlas is offered as a living public resource. The CVH explains why the gap between expert and public AI-risk perception is structural, not just informational. Scenario Reflexivity extends that from perception into causation: AI futures are not passive descriptions of possible worlds but performative propositions that, through the loop Culture → Belief → Behaviour → Reality → Culture, help shape the conditions of their own realisation. The task for AI foresight becomes imagination and reflexive awareness, not just prediction.

How to cite

Draft form. If a peer-reviewed version becomes available, cite that instead.

Stojanovic, A. (2026). Mapping the Unmapped: A Structured Atlas
of Human Futures with Artificial Superintelligence and the
Cultural Visibility Hypothesis (May 2026). DARI Foundation.
https://www.superfutur.es/paper

The atlas → - browse all 55 scenario families with filters
Ontology & classification → - the axes defined in Section 3.3 of the paper
How to read a scenario → - which parts of each scenario are factual, editorial, speculative, or illustrative
Glossary → - specialist terms the paper uses (Cultural Visibility Hypothesis, Scenario Reflexivity, Democratic Amplification, TESCREAL, e/acc, CAIS, etc.)
About SuperFutures → - the project behind the paper

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