AI and Cultural Narratives in English Literature: Reimagining Identity, Power and Technology

Abstract

Artificial intelligence has emerged as one of the most influential forces shaping contemporary global culture, prompting literature to reconsider the boundaries between humans and machines. This paper explores how English literature engages with AI to reconfigure cultural narratives of identity, agency, power, and creativity. Drawing on post humanism, techno culture, feminism, and postcolonial theory, the study examines major literary works from early speculative fiction to twenty-first-century novels and digital literature that portray AI as both a narrative subject and a creative partner. Rather than positioning AI merely as a technological threat or utopian tool, contemporary texts situate AI within emotional, political, and ethical dimensions of human life. Literature reveals how algorithmic systems intersect with histories of colonialism, capitalism, gender, and surveillance while also imagining alternative futures grounded in reciprocity and rationality. Through an analysis of authors such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McEwan, Ted Chiang, Lauren Beukes, and others, this paper demonstrates that AI is reshaping the imaginative landscape of English literature by challenging anthropocentric narratives and proposing new modes of storytelling. Ultimately, literature not only reflects technological change but also offers critical insights into the moral, cultural, and existential implications of an AI-driven world.