From Utopianism to Technological Realism: A Social Informatics Perspective on Generative <scp>AI</scp> Discourse

ABSTRACT This paper revisits Kling's (1994) framework for analyzing technology discourse by applying it to expert commentary on Generative AI (GenAI) posted on X (formerly Twitter) from November 2022 to June 2023. Using thematic content analysis on 1,000 top‐engaged posts, we assessed Kling's five genres—utopianism, anti‐utopianism, social realism, social theory, and analytical reduction—map onto current GenAI discussions. We found notable discourses fell outside these categories, prompting us to introduce a new genre called Enhanced Technological Realism (ETR), which includes Collaborative Tech Assessment (CTA) —current evaluative nature of GenAI discourse, and Tech‐futurism —speculative discourse depending on present scenarios of GenAI. This study establishes a foundational mapping of how online communities frame GenAI by applying and extending Kling's (1994) genre framework.