Apocalypse or Redemption: How the Portuguese Media Cover Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) occupies an increasingly important place in the contemporary societies. One of the most visible aspects is the personalization of online content, news or advertising, but the emergence of personal assistants and autonomous vehicles are phenomena that also attracts the attention of the media and, by this way, reach the population. This article studies the Portuguese reality by analyzing the coverage of artificial intelligence by five national newspapers. The conclusions allow us to say that, although it was considered huge, the coverage proved to be superficial, with a high rate of reuse of sources from other texts, presents little diversity in opinions, and does not stimulate debate in society. Among the most common approaches are economics and political. The coverage was positive in most cases, especially in the health area, where the media never criticized the effects of AI.