“Siri, Show Me Scary Images of AI”: Effects of Text-Based Frames and Visuals on Support for Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

This research note examines how framing influences attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI). It uses an experiment embedded in a nationally representative online survey to test the effects of text-based frames and visuals on opinion about developing, funding, and banning AI. Participants exposed to a “social progress” frame reported greater support for AI than those exposed to a “Pandora’s box” frame. Images (virtual assistants, personal robots, menacing movie AIs, or none) did not influence opinion by themselves but interacted with textual frames to do so. The results extend our understanding of framing effects on public attitudes toward emerging technologies.

Artists or art thieves? media use, media messages, and public opinion about artificial intelligence image generators

“…Framing did not yield discernible effects in every case, particularly when it came to shaping negative beliefs about AI image generators relative to the control condition; however, comparing across framing conditions revealed additional differences between respondents who received the real art frame and those who received the other frames. All told, the experimental findings reinforce and extend previous research showing that exposure to specific frames can influence attitudes about emerging technologies (Cobb 2005; Druckman and Bolsen 2011), including AI (Bingaman et al 2021).…”

“…In doing so, the study builds on framing theory (Entman 1993;Scheufele 1999) as applied to communication about science and technology issues (Gamson and Modigliani 1989;Nisbet 2009). In particular, the study's hypotheses and research questions extend recent theorizing about how media use (Brewer et al 2022) and exposure to media frames (Bingaman et al 2021) are related to attitudes about AI. Drawing on data from a 2022 survey of the US public that included an experimental manipulation of exposure to different tweets about the topic, the analyses show that technology news use and science fiction viewing predicted support for AI art but also predicted negative perceptions of AI image generators as stealing jobs and art styles from human artists.…”

“…Looking beyond broad patterns in media use, exposure to specific frames in media messages can also shape responses to new technologies (Cobb 2005;Druckman and Bolsoen 2011). In the context at hand, one recent experimental study showed that participants exposed to social progress framing of AI reported greater support for the technology than did those exposed to Pandora's box framing (Bingaman et al 2021). Building on this research, the present study hypothesized that seeing AI image generators framed as instruments of progress in art-or, alternatively, as threats to artists-will influence opinions about the topic.…”

Utopian or dystopian? The portrayal of the metaverse in popular news on social media

“…This cognitive process could be modified by other communication sources' framing of the emerging technology, such as journalism, government documents, and technology companies' release, thus shaping their attitudes and intended actions towards it [ 33 , 41 , [44] , [45] , [46] ]. Deriving from framing theory, scholars also conducted experimental studies to check media framing's influence on participants' attitudes and responses to technology [ 47 ]. Participants shown to “AI as social progress frame” message were more likely to support artificial intelligence (AI) than participants shown to “AI as Pandora's box frame” message.…”