"Hail the Omnissiah" : An Anthropology of Microchips and AI in Sweden

Sammanfattning

This master’s thesis traces a phenomenon in which hope and belief in technology are placed as a means to transform or transcend the current human condition, here termed the Swedish tech transcendence phenomenon. The thesis follows four interlocutors across three realms: body modifications via subdermal microchips, AI security, and the adoption of new tech solutions in Sweden. Stories and observations were transformed into writing through multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork with IT professionals. The thesis offers three ethnographic portraits—of Dexter, Mark, Billie, and Louis—and brings forth how they narrate their relationship to AI and human augmentation technologies, and what shared visions of technology emerge from their narratives. Along the way of tracing this phenomenon, there are encounters with liminal monsters, pressure to keep up with an accelerating future, AI as a Trojan horse for neoliberal values, and much more. It is a journey starting with cryogenically frozen heads and ending with tabletop wargames, demonstrating that technology can become a space where horizons meet, where people make sense of themselves, their work, and their place in society. The thesis asks how we might understand technology beyond objects or solutions, as something entangled with everyday life, with bodies, narratives, and the story of humankind through progress. After reading this, you will find yourself wondering in what direction humanity is heading, who decides the future, and for whom it is reserved.