Media frames of artificial intelligence : A comparative study between USA and China

Abstract: This thesis studies the frequency in which certain views regarding artificial intelligence appear in American and Chinese newspapers. Given the general lack of studies focusing on media frames in the world’s two leading AI superpowers, this thesis contributes to the research on how AI is covered, and how it might relate to the international context. By examining survey data and previous literature, key frames are identified which can be assumed to affect the public’s perception of artificial intelligence. The analytical tool was used in a small-scale quantitative content analysis of 96 newspaper articles. If brief, the results show that the most frequent views of artificial intelligence is expressed in geopolitical, economic, and cultural terms. American newspapers have a higher mention of frames relating to ethics, discrimination and accountability. Furthermore, the results indicate that AI industry products are not as commonly mentioned as previous research have shown. Few articles mentioned artificial intelligence from a dystopian or utopian standpoint. The findings suggest that the reporting about artificial intelligence is not as focused on the AI technologies, but rather how AI as an adopted concept will be a tool, used for national strategies, and hence relevant to include when conducting future studies on artificial intelligence in media.