Keywords
Artificial intelligence in education
Media Framing
Education Technology
How to Cite
Abstract
Purpose: To examine how mainstream US media framed generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education during its early diffusion, assessing whether coverage emphasized problem definition and moral evaluation over pedagogical solutions and institutional innovation.
Method: A content analysis was conducted using data from the Dow Jones Factiva database. A total of 2,369 items published between January 2023 and September 2025 were screened, resulting in 542 articles with substantive focus on education after applying exclusion criteria. Coding was performed using Dedoose (Version 10), enabling thematic categorization and iterative comparative analysis. In total, 3,469 coded mentions were analyzed.
Findings: Risk-oriented framing was most prominent (21.6%), including themes such as misinformation, hallucinations, privacy, and academic integrity. This was followed by public perception and debate (15.0%) and industry/education technology (13.4%). Coverage consistently highlighted both opportunities (e.g., tutoring, drafting efficiency, productivity gains) and the need for precaution, with greater emphasis on governance and safety than on pedagogy or professional learning.
Conclusion: Early media discourse framed AI in education primarily as a policy and risk management issue, with pedagogical transformation remaining secondary. Understanding these framing patterns can support educators and policymakers in balancing precaution with innovation adoption.
Originality/Value: This study provides empirical evidence on media framing patterns during a critical phase of generative AI diffusion, contributing to discussions on governance, public perception, and the integration of emerging technologies in education.
References
Agarwal, A. (2024, December 7). How A.I. can revive a love of learning. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/07/special-series/artificial-intelligence-schools-education.html
Bartholomew, J., & Mehta, D. (2023, May 26). How the media is covering ChatGPT. Columbia Journalism Review. https://www.cjr.org/tow_center/media-coverage-chatgpt.php
Basch, C., Hillyer, G., Gold, B., & Yousaf, H. (2025). Understanding artificial intelligence knowledge and usage among college students: Insights from a survey on classroom, coursework, and personal applications. Review of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 6, e037. https://doi.org/10.37497/rev.artif.intell.educ.v6ii.37
Basch C.H., Kecojevic, A., Wagner, V.H. (2020). Coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in the online versions of highly circulated U.S. daily newspapers. Journal of Community Health, 45:1089–1097. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-020-00913-w
Basch, C.H., Kecojevic, A., Wagner, V.H. (2021). Reporting of recombinant adenovirus-based COVID-19 vaccine adverse events in online versions of three highly circulated US newspapers. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapy, 17:5114–5119. https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2021.1979847
Beck, U. (2009). Risk society: Towards a new modernity (repr). Sage.
Borchers, C. (2025, March 6). Parents in tech want their kids to go into the arts instead. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/parents-in-tech-want-their-kids-to-go-into-the-arts-instead-6966b658
Borup, M., Brown, N., Konrad, K., & Van Lente, H. (2006). The sociology of expectations in science and technology. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 18(3–4), 285–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537320600777002
Brown, N., & Michael, M. (2003). A sociology of expectations: Retrospecting prospects and prospecting retrospects. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 15(1), 3–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/0953732032000046024
Cave, S., Dihal, K. S. M., & Dillon, S. (Eds.). (2024). AI narratives: A history of imaginative thinking about intelligent machines. Oxford University Press.
Chong, D., & Druckman, J. N. (2007). A theory of framing and opinion formation in competitive elite environments. Journal of Communication, 57(1), 99–118. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00331.x
Chuan, C.-H., Tsai, W.-H. S., & Cho, S. Y. (2019). Framing artificial intelligence in American newspapers. Proceedings of the 2019 AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society, 339–344. https://doi.org/10.1145/3306618.3314285
Closson, T. (2024, September 5). Migrants have been a ‘Godsend,’ New York schools chief says.
The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/05/nyregion/banks-migrants-nyc-schools.html
Cools, H., Van Gorp, B., & Opgenhaffen, M. (2024). Where exactly between utopia and dystopia? A framing analysis of AI and automation in US newspapers. Journalism, 25(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849221122647
Couldry, N., & Hepp, A. (2013). Conceptualizing mediatization: Contexts, traditions, arguments: Editorial. Communication Theory, 23(3), 191–202. https://doi.org/10.1111/comt.12019
Diliberti, M. K., Lake, R. J., & Weiner, S. R. (2025). More districts are training teachers on artificial intelligence: Findings from the American School District Panel. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA956-31.html
Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43(4), 51–58. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01304.x
Eutsler, L., Rivera, B., Barnes, M., & Cummings, J. (2025). Artificial intelligence policies in K-12 school districts in the United States: A content analysis shaping education policy. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2025.2476589
Fitts, M. A. (2023, April 7). Not your parents’ Google: Why universities should embrace, not fear, ChatGPT and AI. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2023/04/07/colleges-should-embrace-chatgpt-ai-academic-potential/11569735002/
Freeman, J. (2023, June 6). Opinion | Artificial intelligence still not smart enough. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/opinion/artificial-intelligence-still-not-smart-enough-dd7360f2
Goode, E., & Ben-Yehuda, N. (1994). Moral panics: Culture, politics, and social construction.
Annual Review of Sociology, 20, 149–171.
Hilgartner, S., & Bosk, C. L. (1988). The rise and fall of social problems: A public arenas model.
American Journal of Sociology, 94(7), 53–78.
IBM Corp. (2024). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 29.0 [Computer software]. IBM Corp.
Jasanoff, S., & Kim, S.-H. (2015). Dreamscapes of modernity: Sociotechnical imaginaries and the fabrication of power. University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226276663.001.0001
Jimenez, K. (2023, March 3). ChatGPT in the classroom: Here’s what teachers and students are saying. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2023/03/01/what-teachers-students-saying-ai-chatgpt-use-classrooms/11340040002/
Jolly, J. (2023, January 27). What is ChatGPT? Everything to know about OpenAI’s free AI essay writer and how it works. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2023/01/27/chatgpt-buzzfeed-ai/11129947002/
Kelly, R. (2024, August 28). Survey: 86% of students already use AI in their studies. https://campustechnology.com/Articles/2024/08/28/Survey-86-of-Students-Already-Use-AI-in-Their-Studies.aspx
Klein, P. (2024). Using social media and artificial intelligence to find your purpose. Creative Nursing, 30(2), 103–110. https://doi.org/10.1177/10784535241244523
Lee, V. R., Pope, D., Miles, S., & Zárate, R. C. (2024). Cheating in the age of generative AI: A high school survey study of cheating behaviors before and after the release of ChatGPT. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 7, 100253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2024.100253
McCombs, M. E., & Shaw, D. L. (1972). The agenda-setting function of mass media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 36(2), 176. https://doi.org/10.1086/267990
Miao, F., & Holmes, W. (2023). Guidance for generative AI in education and research.
UNESCO. https://doi.org/10.54675/EWZM9535
Morson, G. S. M., & Ottino, J. M. (2025, June 30). Opinion | What would Hayek think of AI?
Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/opinion/what-would-hayek-think-of-ai-technology-society-planning-885a6d1b
Nguyen, N. (2023, May 7). Forget ChatGPT. These are the best AI-powered apps. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/tech/forget-chatgpt-these-are-the-best-ai-powered-apps-d927d0bf
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2025). Results from TALIS 2024: The state of teaching. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/90df6235-en
Pireci Sejdiu, N., & Sejdiu, S. (2025). The quiet transformation of higher education in the AI era.
Open Research Europe, 5, 249. https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.20715.1 Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovations (5th ed.). (Original work published Free Press)
Schechner, S., & Seetharaman, D. (2023, September 4). How worried should we be about AI’s threat to humanity? Even tech leaders can’t agree. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/how-worried-should-we-be-about-ais-threat-to-humanity-even-tech-leaders-cant-agree-46c664b6
Scheufele, D. A. (1999). Framing as a theory of media effects. Journal of Communication, 49(1), 103–122. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1999.tb02784.x
Selwyn, N. (2022). Education and technology: Key issues and debates (Third edition).
Bloomsbury Academic.
Sidorkin, S. (2025). AI in education in the media: Moral panic and pushback (2022-2025). AI-EDU Arxiv. https://doi.org/10.36851/ai-edu.vi.5460
Singer, N. (2023a, February 6). At this school, computer science class now includes critiquing chatbots. The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/06/technology/chatgpt-schools-teachers-ai-ethics.html Singer, N. (2023b, September 1). Ban or embrace? Colleges wrestle with A.I.-generated admissions essays. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/01/business/college-admissions-essay-ai-chatbots.html
Singer, N. (2025, May 2). Google plans to roll out Its A.I. chatbot to children under 13. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/technology/google-gemini-ai-chatbot-kids.html
Surjadi, M. (2024, August 5). Colleges race to ready students for the AI workplace. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/colleges-race-to-ready-students-for-the-ai-workplace-cc936e5b
Taylor, D. (2025, June 4). AI in the classroom: Cheating, learning, and the new academic gray zone | The Excerpt. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2025/06/05/ai-classroom-cheating-the-excerpt/84052452007/
UPCEA. (2025, April 30). Urgent need for AI literacy. UPCEA. https://upcea.edu/urgent-need-for-ai-literacy/
U.S. Department of Education, & Office of Educational Technology. (2023). Artificial Intelligence and the future of teaching and learning: Insights and recommendations. https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/documents/ai-report/ai-report.pdf
Van Dijck, J., Poell, T., & De Waal, M. (2018). The Platform Society (1st ed.). Oxford University Press.
VanLehn, K. (2011). The relative effectiveness of human tutoring, intelligent tutoring systems, and other tutoring systems. Educational Psychologist, 46(4), 197–221. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2011.611369
Vilcarino, J., & Langreo, L. (2025, October 8). Rising use of AI in schools comes with big downsides for students. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/technology/rising-use-of-ai-in-schools-comes-with-big-downsides-for-students/2025/10
Williamson, B., Macgilchrist, F., & Potter, J. (2023). Re-examining AI, automation and datafication in education. Learning, Media and Technology, 48(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2023.2167830
Zumbrun, J. (2023, February 3). ChatGPT needs some help with math assignments. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/ai-bot-chatgpt-needs-some-help-with-math-assignments-11675390552
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Corey H. Basch, Grace C. Hillyer, Victoria H. Wagner, Charles E. Basch