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New studies indicate that articles from liberal media sources express a higher level of opposition towards artificial intelligence (AI) compared to their conservative counterparts. This opposition is often rooted in concerns regarding AI's potential to exacerbate societal issues such as racial and gender biases, as well as income inequality, according to researchers from Virginia Tech University in the United States, reported PTI.

The researchers noted that the media's stance on artificial intelligence, as reflected in public sentiment, can significantly influence policymakers' perspectives. Consequently, these findings carry potential implications for shaping future political dialogues on AI. The research was published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

Additionally, the researchers highlighted that the variations in sentiment toward AI within partisan media outlets could potentially contribute to divergent public opinions on the subject.

"Media sentiment is a powerful driver of public opinion, and many times policymakers look towards the media to predict public sentiment on contentious issues," stated Angela Yi, study author and a PhD student in the marketing department of Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business.

In conducting the study, the researchers assembled a dataset comprising more than 7,500 articles on artificial intelligence published between May 2019 and May 2021. These articles were sourced from diverse media outlets, including liberal-leaning publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post, as well as conservative-leaning outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. The selection criteria involved identifying articles with specific keywords such as "algorithm" or "artificial intelligence."

The researchers utilized an automated text analysis tool to examine the "emotional tone" of the collected articles. This tool operated by quantifying the variance between the percentage of positive emotion words and the percentage of negative emotion words within a given text. Subsequently, each article received a standardized 'emotional tone' measure or score based on this analysis.

Reportedly, the researchers clarified that they refrained from making judgments about whether the liberal media or conservative media were operating optimally. They emphasized that they did not take a stance on what should be considered the "right way" to engage in discussions about AI.

"We are just showing that these differences exist in the media sentiment and that these differences are important to quantify, see, and understand," said Shreyans Goenka, a study author and assistant professor of marketing at Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business.

The researchers also investigated the shift in media sentiment toward AI following the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Floyd, a 46-year-old Black American man, lost his life in Minneapolis, USA, when Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer, was involved in the tragic incident.

"Since Floyd's death ignited a national conversation about social biases in society, his death heightened social bias concerns in the media," stated Yi.

"This, in turn, resulted in the media becoming even more negative towards AI in their storytelling," Yi added.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Liberal media displays higher opposition to AI, citing concerns over bias and inequality, new study reveals | Mint - Mint