As part of the project “Imaginaries of AI”, Prof. Dr. Christian Katzenbach co-authored the new article “Studying the discursive order of artificial intelligence: Cross-national media coverage in China, Germany, and the US (2012–2024)” that was published in Big Data & Society.
As a transformative force, artificial intelligence (AI) has become central to national interests, international prestige, and geopolitical strategy. The global competition for economic and and political influence also unfolds discursively, as nations and sectors seek to shape the public debate about the economic, political, and societal implications of AI.
To address how national interests intersect with the global AI landscape, the current study introduces the concept of the global discursive order (GDO) as a framework for analyzing how AI discourses are constructed and contested across countries. The study operationalizes this framework by analyzing 18,746 news articles on AI from China, Germany, and the United States from 2012 to 2024. Findings reveal distinct national profiles, overlapping discursive trends, and cross-national reflexivity within the GDO of AI.
Read here: Zeng, J., Mahl, D., Schäfer, M. S., Brause, S. R., & Katzenbach, C. (2026). Studying the discursive order of artificial intelligence: Cross-national media coverage in China, Germany, and the US (2012–2024). Big Data & Society, 13(1), 20539517261429196. https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517261429196