This article analyses how generative artificial intelligence (AI) can be domesticated within everyday life by revisiting and extending classic theories of technological integration. Drawing on Silverstone’s domestication model, the analysis outlines how technologies acquire meaning through appropriation, objectification, incorporation, and conversion within the moral economy of the household. To address the limits of a framework originally developed for television, the article integrates insights from the Actor-Network Theory, and the Technology Acceptance Model. Empirical results show that 54,5% of Croatian citizens use AI tools, while 45,5% do not. Usage varies significantly by age and region, with 27,8% using AI occasionally, 26,7% frequently, and 23,6% not at all. Non-use is primarily explained by insufficient knowledge, lack of interest, and distrust. Familiarity and perceived competence strongly shape attitudes and incorporation into daily routines, indicating that domestication often breaks down at the appropriation stage. Overall, the findings highlight AI’s ambivalent role as both intermediary and mediator in everyday practices.
Mravunac et al. (Thu,) studied this question.