Technopessimism in the Spanish Print Media in the Public Debate on the Social Impact of Artificial Intelligence

  • Cristian Augusto González Arias Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
  • Xosé López-García Universidad de Santiago de Compostela
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26422/aucom.2025.1401.gon
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Technoethics, Ethical dilemmas, Public debate, Media coverage, Technopessimism

Abstract

The rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has intensified public debate about its social implications. In this context, journalistic coverage of technological advancements plays a key role in shaping public opinion. As a mediator of public debate, the press has the responsibility to provide critical and balanced coverage of these important issues. This study analyzes how the media represents ethical concerns regarding the social effects of AI. Based on a corpus of 912 articles from 12 Spanish newspapers, the topics and voices shaping the debate over a one-month period, five months after the launch of ChatGPT, were identified. The results reveal the main discourses organizing public debate, highlighting a predominant technopessimist perspective that emphasizes the potential risks AI poses to humanity and the urgent need to establish ethical standards. Additionally, it shows that large tech companies have played a prominent role in the debate, acting not only as key players in technological development but also as the main voices driving the discussion, in contrast to the limited participation of political, governmental, and civil society actors. While no systematic differences were observed between the newspapers analyzed, some differences in positioning emerged when comparing traditional media with digital-native outlets.

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Author Biographies

Cristian Augusto González Arias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso

Doctor en Lingüística, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile y Docteur en Sciences du Langage, Universidad Paris 13, Francia. Actualmente realiza una estadía de investigación posdoctoral en la Universidad de Santiago de Compostela a través del Programa María Zambrano (2023-2024), España. Profesor titular de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile. Realiza docencia de pre y postgrado en los programas de Licenciaturas en Lingüística y Literatura, Magíster en Lingüística Aplicada y Doctorado en Lingüística. Investiga la enunciación en el espacio público en el marco de la Lingüística del Discurso, especialmente, el discurso de la prensa, discurso académico y político.

Xosé López-García, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela

Xosé López García, periodista y catedrático de Periodismo, pertenece al Departamento de Ciencias de la Comunicación de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Comunicación de la Universidad de Santiago de Compostela.
Ejerció el periodismo durante veinte años en medios de Galicia.
Fue miembro del Consello da Cultura Galega, donde dirigió la sección de Comunicación y ocupó una vicepresidencia y la secretaría de esta institución autonómica.
En la universidad imparte docencia sobre comunicación y redacción periodística así como sobre periodismo electrónico y también dirige el grupo de investigación Novos Medios. Co-dirige la revista RAE-IC y es revisor de Comunicar y Profesional de la Información, entre otras revistas españolas.
Ha publicado varios trabajos sobre la prensa gallega y es autor y coautor de libros sobre ciberperiodismo.

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Published
2024-11-27
How to Cite
González Arias, C. A., & López-García, X. (2024). Technopessimism in the Spanish Print Media in the Public Debate on the Social Impact of Artificial Intelligence. Austral Comunicación, 14(1), e01403. https://doi.org/10.26422/aucom.2025.1401.gon
Issue
Vol. 14 No. 1 (2025)
Section
Free articles section

Copyright (c) 2024 Cristian Augusto González Arias, Xosé López-García

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