Anthropology in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Bibliometric Analysis of Global Research Trends in Web of Science (2000–2025)

Abstract

This paper conducts a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of research on artificial intelligence (AI) and anthropology, focusing on their dynamic interactions in complex sociocultural systems from 2000 to 2025. The anthropological perspective has become an indispensable tool for analyzing the cultural, social, and ethical implications of AI, questioning power structures and inequality, and supporting the responsible development of technology in contexts where technological progress is intertwined with human experience and social values. Bibliographic data from Web of Science (with a focus on 1,742 documents from 2020-2026) were analyzed to examine publication trends, thematic clusters, co-authorship networks, citation structures, and keyword co-occurrences using bibliometric tools such as VOSviewer and Bibliometrix. Conceptual mapping highlights the dominant domains the ethical and sociocultural implications of AI (including algorithmic bias, AI ethics, and ethnography) and methodological applications and growing technologies (such as machine learning, forensic anthropology, and generative AI), all of which are connected through the overarching topic of human experience and social organization in the digital age. The results offer a structured overview of the field's evolution, providing researchers anddecision-makers with a valuable reference point for advancing AI applications in anthropological research.

DOI:  doi:10.5671/ca.49.1.10