Mapping the Discursive Landscape: A Critical Discourse Analysis of AI Perspectives in Irish Journals

Global media discourse has played a crucial role in shaping public perceptions and understanding around AI. While AI discourse continues to be the centre of debates, currently, limited research has examined the way Irish news outlets represent AI, particularly in balancing its utopian potentials and dystopian challenges. This research addresses the gap by examining how Irish media outlets portray the discourse on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their headlines and selected case studies between May 2023 and January 2024. Using a mixed method approach, combining Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), Thematic Analysis, and Sentiment Analysis, the research analyses 405 headlines and 15 in-depth case articles from five prominent Irish news outlets: The Journal, Irish Tech News, Irish Independent, The Irish Times, and Irish Examiner. The findings identify key themes and sub-themes related to AI’s portrayal, including its economic potential, regulatory challenges, and societal risks, with a particular focus on the utopian and dystopian binary that dominates AI discourse. The study reveals a spectrum of discourses, with Irish Tech News and Irish Independent mainly presenting a utopian vision of AI as a driver of economic and technological progress, whereas The Journal, Irish Examiner, and Irish Times tend to provide a more balanced perspective, addressing both AI’s positive potentials in solving issues and negative implications, particularly in the context of misinformation and governance.