Linguistic Analysis of the News Coverage of Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

The coverage of artificial intelligence (AI) in the news plays a significant role in the public perception of AI and the regulation of this technology. This portrayal is especially critical nowadays, since AI is increasingly used in numerous areas. It comes as no surprise that studies on media coverage of AI have recently become widespread. In particular, scientists use content analysis, frame analysis, text tone analysis, and other methods that allow them to research a large volume of texts and determine whether AI is represented positively or negatively. At the same time, few studies examine the representation of AI from a linguistic perspective, which explains the relevance of this article's topic. The purpose of this study is to analyze the tactics of discursive (de)legitimization of AI used in news headlines. The approach of critical discourse analysis, namely the methodology of T. van Leeuwen, was applied because representation in the media can affect the legitimation or delegitimation of AI usage. The research data were headlines of TSN, Ukrainska Pravda, and UNIAN articles displayed on the «artificial intelligence» search query and published from August 2024 to July 2025. The objectives of the study were to outline the main trends and narratives of the representation of artificial intelligence in the foreign press, determine tactics of discursive (de)legitimization of AI used in Ukrainian news headlines, and examine which tactics and for which aim are used the most. Examination of scientific articles on the portrayal of AI in the media proved the idea of negative representation of AI wrong. According to research, the prevailing attitude is optimistic or neutral. However, as a few studies have demonstrated, the media mentions the risks of AI more and more often. The analysis of Ukrainian news has revealed that 92 headlines have strategies that legitimise AI, and 122 headlines contain delegitimation strategies. Usually, the use of AI is legitimized by indicating the positive consequences of its activities (tactics of result and means orientation), its use by influential countries or institutions (a tactic of positional authority), comparing AI with human intelligence (a tactic of analogy) and using adjectives, nouns and verbs with positive connotations to denote the actions of AI (tactics of evaluation and abstraction). The delegitimation of AI is implemented in the media headlines by reporting the negative consequences of its activities or the illegitimate purposes for which it is used (tactics of result, effect, and means orientation), as well as the use of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs with negative connotations to describe AI's actions (tactics of abstraction and evaluation). It was also noted that AI is often represented in the media as an agent, which can belittle the role of those who use AI (in the case of reporting achievements) and shift responsibility for negative consequences from people to AI, portraying certain outcomes as inevitable or uncontrollable, making the headlines sensational.