Constructing AI Through Discourse : A Critical Discourse Analysis of How the EU and China Communicate AI Governance

Sammanfattning

Abstract: This thesis explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is communicated and legitimized in official institutional discourse within the European Union (EU) and China. While previous research has mainly focused on comparing AI regulations, strategies, and geopolitical ambitions, less attention has been given to how political institutions communicate about AI and construct legitimacy around technological governance. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the study examines official policy documents and strategic communications produced by the European Commission and Chinese state institutions. The analysis is informed by the theoretical perspectives of deep mediatization and Critical AI Studies, which help explain how AI governance is connected to broader transformations in communication, institutional power, and digital society. The findings show that the EU primarily communicates AI through narratives of trust, ethics, regulation, and rights protection, presenting itself as a responsible global actor in AI governance. China, in contrast, discursively constructs AI as a strategic tool for national development, modernization, and technological leadership, emphasizing state coordination and long-term planning. Despite these differences, both actors use future-oriented and progress-driven narratives to legitimize their approaches to AI governance and shape public understandings of AI’s role in society. At the same time, the analysis shows that potential challenges and negative consequences related to AI, such as inequality, surveillance, or labour displacement, receive comparatively limited attention in both cases. By focusing on the communicative dimension of AI governance, this thesis contributes to research on media, communication, and institutional discourse. It also provides insight into how political actors use discourse to construct authority, legitimacy, and desirable technological futures in an increasingly digitalized society.