Representation of Artificial Intelligence in the UK media. A Study of Online Articles of The Guardian and The Independent

Abstract

The rapid advance in AI has led to many articles trying to describe this relatively new technology. Various media outlets and organisations are analysing the possible outcomes of the AI development, and offering opinions and recommendations about its usefulness and the risks it carries. It is important to know how public opinion is being formed and in what way the image created by the media influences it.

This thesis aims to identify the different frames used by the media in the UK to describe the introduction of AI systems in both the public and private lives of people. The broader topic of this research is the representation of AI within the articles published in the online editions of The Guardian and The Independent newspapers during the first half of 2017.

The thesis uses frame analysis and the theories of Entman to analyse a corpus of data, which includes articles published in the online editions of the two newspapers during the first six months of 2017. By using this method, two main frames were identified: the helping and the destroying AI. Each frame is applied in the reports about different topics, such as automation, healthcare and security. The main topics of the articles are analysed in separate subchapters, highlighting the main concepts, terms and phrases used to form a specific frame. This way the analysis concludes the way in which AI is represented by the media in connection to a specific topic.