on May 28, 2025
Appification in the Age of AI:
Exploring AI App Cultures and Economies
edited by Fernando van der Vlist and Esther Weltevrede
ASI Sprint Report Series No. 2. App Studies Initiative (ASI). doi: 10.17605/osf.io/hv34x.
Abstract
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into everyday life and digital environments, its presence in applications (‘apps’) warrants closer examination. This report explores what we call the ‘appification of AI’—the process by which AI technologies are embedded into daily life and practices via apps and app ecosystems. Drawing on insights from app studies, platform studies, and critical AI studies, the report investigates how different kinds of AI apps and app ecosystems—whether marketed as applications, ‘agents’, ‘solutions’, ‘custom models’, ‘GPTs’, or other forms—are shaping user experiences, business models, and digital infrastructures. It maps the rapidly expanding landscape of AI apps across multiple spheres, from generative AI mobile apps and chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT to enterprise-focused AI tools distributed through cloud AI marketplaces. Combining app ecosystem analysis and a ‘multi-situated’ approach to app studies and collaborating with Master’s students, the report presents a series of mappings and case studies that highlight how AI apps are reshaping different sectors and spheres of everyday life. Ultimately, the report underscores the significance of critical app and platform studies in understanding the cultural, economic, and political dimensions of AI technology across various application contexts and cases.
Read more: https://doi.org/10.17605/osf.io/hv34x [PDF] (open access).
About this Report
This second ASI Sprint Report stems from the 2024–2025 Master’s elective course ‘Appification: The Cultures and Economies of Apps’, and the Cultural Data & AI Master’s Embedded Research Project ‘The Appification of AI: Exploring Emerging AI App Ecosystems and Infrastructures’, both developed, taught, and supervised by the editors in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam, Faculty of Humanities. The chapters present the research undertaken by students as part of the Embedded Research Project and the course’s concluding themed ‘data sprint’, organised within the Department of Media Studies. All contributors are listed in the Contributors section of the report.