Cultural Differences in Media Framing of AI

Abstract

Media frames are especially important in understanding how the public makes sense of hi-tech artefacts that are either poorly or indirectly experienced in everyday life. Since the algorithms behind artificial intelligence (AI) are almost a ‘black box’ to most people, despite its pervasive presence in everyday life, AI keeps its fetish-like representation in the public imagination. Differing from certain science topics, such as space technologies, by having little direct presence in everyday life, AI presents an important case for understanding the cultural functions of hi-tech artefacts. Despite its importance, the way media framing of AI differs in different cultural contexts remains a gap in the literature. The limited number of studies analysing AI in the media rely mostly on content analysis of single cases, rather than cross-cultural comparisons. Media framing is closely related to context, and analysing media across countries can accentuate different media framings. Through automated text analysis of approximately 5000 news items, this study provides some evidence supporting the proposition that media in different countries represent AI in ways that reflect the cultural, societal and political context in which they are embedded. © China Science and Technology Press 2021.