AI at Work: Good News or Bad News? A Longitudinal Study of Dominant Media Frames of AI's Impact on Work in Swedish Trade Media

Sammanfattning

The media's framing of artificial intelligence (AI) has drawn increasing scholarly attention for its role in shaping public perception and polarizing opinion by emphasizing selective aspects of the technology. This is especially relevant in the context of work, where successful AI adoption partly depends on workers' attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge. Despite widespread predictions about AI's impact on work, limited research has examined how media has framed these implications. Existing studies mostly focus on early media portrayals in AI-leading countries, overlooking how framing evolves with growing adoption and varies across national contexts. This study addresses these gaps by analyzing how trade media framed AI's impact on work from 2019 to 2024 in Sweden, a country with relatively slow AI adoption and growing skepticism. Using Framing Theory and literature on AI and work, a longitudinal qualitative content and thematic analysis of 619 articles is conducted, which revealed six dominant media frames: disruptive force, inherent risks, opportunities, augmenting tool, job displacement, and importance of upskilling. These frames all shifted from speculative to concrete implications as AI became more accessible. Additionally, the framing evolved from predominantly negative to more positive following the release of generative AI tools. This study contributes to academic literature by enriching the concept of AI as a double-edged sword, illustrating the ambiguity of its impact on work. It also advances media framing theory by showing frames evolve with technological and societal change, and may transcend national context. Conclusively, this study offers practical insights for organizations managing AI adoption.