Metaphorical conceptualization of AI in digital discourse

This study investigates the conceptual metaphors employed to characterize Artificial Intelligence (AI) within online public discourse. By using a cognitive semantic approach, this investigation aims to uncover how metaphors shape social perceptions of AI, revealing the cognitive mechanisms involved in making sense of this rapidly evolving technology. An adapted version of the Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP) has been combined with semantic frames to analyze the metaphorical mappings between the source and target frames, offering a more precise examination of the metaphors' conceptual structure. The analysis reveals a spectrum of metaphors portraying AI both as a beneficial partner and a potential threat, reflecting diverse attitudes and concerns about its integration into society. By focusing on the frame level, this study provides a fine-grained understanding of how different aspects of AI are construed through familiar conceptual frames. The findings contribute to the field of Cognitive Semantics and offer valuable insights for AI developers, educators, and communicators, emphasizing the importance of metaphors in framing society’s understanding of emerging technologies.