Exploring AI identity: The media framing of communicative artificial intelligence in Singapore’s news sites

Implementing artificial intelligence also requires examinations of public attitudes and perceptions. One approach is by examining media framing of artificial intelligence, including news coverage, which is a reflection of societal perceptions and a key influence over people's understanding. As such, this study examines the framing of communicative artificial intelligence in Singapore, looking at how the news media frame communicative artificial intelligence and characterize it as a social actor. Through a manual content analysis of 336 news articles from three major news websites in Singapore, this study found that the news media in Singapore tend to focus on the benefits and advances of communicative artificial intelligence and portray communicative artificial intelligence as a tool rather than social actor. However, when comparing news coverage of communicative artificial intelligence after the advent of ChatGPT, the news framed communicative artificial intelligence more in terms of risks, regulations, responsibilities, and conflict.