Framing Analysis of ChatGPT in Malaysian English Newspaper

Abstract

Ever since the release of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven text tool named ChatGPT, society has started a wildfire of discussion regarding its pros and cons. However, ChatGPT has been given wide attention due to its availability and accessibility. People can easily assess the tool from their smartphones or computers. Thus, this research explores how newspapers frame ChatGPT. It is important as newspaper portrayals are responsible for shaping public opinion. Using a qualitative approach, the researcher used framing analysis to analyse data collected from a Malaysian daily English Newspaper, The Star. The newspaper articles were collected for a period of three months starting February 1st to April 30th, 2023. The rationale behind the period was that ChatGPT Plus was made available in Malaysia in February. A total of 69 articles were found. However, only 17 articles were written locally while the rest were taken from international news agencies. Thus, the study will only include the local articles to see how they were written in a local context. The study found three major recurring themes which are responsibility, consequence, and human-interest frames. The newspapers urged society to embrace AI, especially in the education and business sectors. More emphasis was put on practitioners in their respective industries to set up policies to guide the usage of ChatGPT. Meanwhile, consequence frames were highlighted when the newspapers covered the low side of ChatGPT such as the dangers of fraud, phishing as well as plagiarism. Finally, the human-interest frame could be found when the newspaper shed light on some human conditions such as celebrities' and students’ opinions on ChatGPT. With that, the findings suggest that Malaysian newspapers should give more diverse coverage on the topic itself. It is evident that the newspaper should look at their roles as public watchdogs to serve the public's interest.