A Scholarly Definition of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Advancing AI as a Conceptual Framework in Communication Research

ABSTRACT

Research on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in communication research is gaining broader interest. This interdisciplinary interest has yet to be supported by a systematic scholarly definition and by a holistic theoretical framework in communication research. First, combining prior theoretical efforts from diverse disciplines in the social sciences, especially journalism and communication, this study introduces a wide-ranging working AI scholarly definition in communication research as the tangible real-world capability of non-human machines or artificial entities to perform, task solve, communicate, interact, and act logically as it occurs with biological humans. We also propose its theoretical operationalization based on two dimensions: level of performance and level of autonomy, advancing an elementary conceptual framework drawing on AI’s levels of potential actions or performance the AI may accomplish, including 1) performing tasks, 2) taking decisions, and 3) making predictions; as well as AI’s level of autonomy, or the agency results contingent on the degrees of human input, interaction, or supervision involved.

KEYWORDS:

• Artificial intelligence
• AI
• AI performance level
• AI autonomy level
• social sciences
• communication
• journalism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Spanish National Research Agency’s Program for the Generation of Knowledge and the Scientific and Technological Strengthening Research + Development [PID2020-115562GB-I00].

Notes on contributors

Homero Gil de Zúñiga

Homero Gil de Zúñiga: Ph.D. in Politics at Universidad Europea de Madrid and Ph.D. in Mass Communication at University of Wisconsin – Madison, serves as Distinguished Research Professor at University of Salamanca, as Distinguished Professor of Media Effects & AI at The Pennsylvania State University, and as Senior Research Fellow at Universidad Diego Portales. His work aims to shed an empirical social scientific light over how social media, algorithms, AI, and other technologies affect society. Relying on survey, experimental, and computational methods his work seeks to clarify the way we understand some of today’s most pressing challenges for democracies.

Manuel Goyanes

Manuel Goyanes: Ph.D. in Journalism at University of Santiago de Compostela, serves as an Assistant Professor at Carlos III University in Madrid and as a Visiting Fellow at the Democracy Research Unit – DRU (University of Salamanca). His research addresses the influence of journalism and new technologies over citizens’ daily lives, as well as the effects of news consumption on citizens’ political knowledge and participation. He is also interested in global inequalities in academic participation, the systematic biases towards global South scholars, and publication trends in Communication.

Timilehin Durotoye

Timilehim Durotoye: Ph.D. student in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at The Pennsylvania State University. She earned her BA and MA degrees from the Department of Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Using quantitative methods, her research centers on the effects of new media, algorithms, and artificial intelligence (AI) on human-social interaction, and long-debated/emergent political behavior capable of influencing democratic processes.