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Future visions as prolongation of the past : the framing of AI futures in the political and media discourse in Germany

Köstler, Lea Clara (2020) Future visions as prolongation of the past : the framing of AI futures in the political and media discourse in Germany.

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Abstract:This bachelor thesis sheds light on the emergence and diffusion of socio-technological future visions. The research focus is on the artificial intelligence (AI) future envisioned by the German government juxtaposed with the respective news media coverage of the German media. By means of a frame analysis, the theoretical expectation that future visions are strategically used to realise political objectives is examined. Moreover, the study includes the theoretical notion that the media adopt the government´s frames and do not integrate alternative future narratives into the public debate. These theoretical predictions are substantiated in the framing of AI futures in policy documents of the German government and various articles of four different German newspapers. It is shown how the German government frames the emergence of the AI future as an unalterable, autonomous development. It was found that the German media amplify this framing regarding economic aspects of the AI future. However, the media partly expose the government´s frames and uncover political interests that seek to uphold the present balance of power. Based on these findings, approaches to create alternative future visions which include fundamentally different political designs are sketched.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:05 communication studies, 89 political science
Programme:Management Society and Technology BSc (56654)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/82283
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