Artificial Intelligence in National Media: How the North-South Divide Matters?
Abstract: This study addresses the issue of how discourses around Artificial Intelligence have been presented in national media. To explore this topic, I analyze news articles to identify narratives and imaginaries that contribute to building the concept of AI from a North-South perspective. To attempt to answer these questions, I have selected two different countries to gather the data from, one in the Global North (Sweden) and one in the Global South (Chile). However, both are located in the same “Large/Medium” cluster when combining land area and population. And both countries are known as innovative leaders in the utilization of new technologies. Drawing on data collected from 103 news articles, I found that in both cases, AI is presented as a positive tool for the development of local and global economies. Furthermore, AI is seen as driving the creation of exciting and disruptive businesses. However, my analysis shows that there is uncertainty about the future of the current status quo, both regarding the labor market and the cur-rent geopolitical power balance if China were to win the so-called ‘AI race.’ The data was coded and analyzed using a combination of critical discourse analysis and a data extractivism and the approach introduced by Sheila Jasanoff, the sociotechnical imaginaries. These perspectives can help to understand the relations between scientific and technological projects, and political institutions and power. Throughout the sample, the hegemonic (dominant) voice prevailed through discussions of the economy having a particular North-centric representation. This is important to explore as it can shed light on whether the AI is to provide real opportunities or if it is replicating the power relations of the globalized world. In this sense, the study also criticizes the sociotechnological imaginaries since, despite the fact that they propose a local view of power relations, they confirm that technological developments are often subject to global, political and corporate planning, regardless of the particular reality of each country.
Author bio: Claudia Wladdimiro Quevedo. MSc Digital Media and Society from Uppsala University. Research Assistant Department Informatics and Media, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) unit, Uppsala University, Sweden. She focuses on communications and how through new technologies and human centered focused work, a more empathetic society can be channeled.
Recorded Presentation | 28 April 2023
#Journalism #Imaginaries #JournalistsAndCommunicators #Sweden #Chile
