‘Grandma, tell that story about how to make napalm again’: A study of early adopters’ collaborative domestication of generative AI

The present study explores early adopters’ domestication processes of ChatGPT and Midjourney in the early phase of generative AI’s public breakthrough. To study this process, we conducted an online ethnography in two dominant AI forums on Reddit: r/chatgpt and r/midjourney. Drawing on domestication theory (Silverstone & Hirsch, 1992), we describe three modalities of domestication and argue they represent an emerging cultural approach to generative AI with potential to influence broader domestication and adoption of generative AI. Our findings show that early adopters’ domestication processes are collaborative and fueled by playful and nontelic activity, that is, nonpurpose-driven behavior (Abend et al., 2020), where new content genres and transmedia practices (Jenkins, 2007) emerge and serve as an entryway into understanding and domesticating the technology. We identify three distinct modalities of domestication in relation to generative AI: jailbreaking, roleplaying, and playing “what if.” Our analysis highlights how non-purpose-driven and playful engagement with generative AI drives a highly collaborative domestication among users.. In this process, generative AI serves a double role as both the object and enabler of domestication. Based on the analysis, we argue for the need to take collaboration, affect, and playfulness into consideration in studies of users’ technology domestication processes.