Abstract:

In recent years, the continuous and increasing implementation of artificial intelligence technologies in our daily lives has triggered discussions regarding its potentials and risks, especially in news media. However, the analysis of the way in which this technology is communicated to the public is limited. The framing approach can be applied to understand the structure of news stories and to explore the type of interpretation patterns that are used to inform the public about artificial intelligence technologies. For this purpose, a total of 209 news articles from two highly circulated Turkish newspapers were gathered between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019 and analyzed in order to discover how this emerging technology is framed in the media discourse with regard to its prospects and challenges. The results indicate that the following frames are used in Turkish news coverage to thematize the possibilities and potential risks of artificial intelligence: “Artificial intelligence as assistant/supporter”, “economic benefit”, “elimination of human error”, “human replacement”, and “ethical concerns”. Overall, the news coverage reveals a predominately positive tendency toward artificial intelligence by emphasizing the prospects and benefits for its users.

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