AI as “Artificial Immigrants”? A Content Analysis of the U.S. News Media Framing of AI Threats

Since ChatGPT’s release in 2022, public discourse has surged around AI’s promises and risks. News coverage influences public understandings of AI, yet few studies examine its framing as a threat. Portrayed like immigrants, AI appears as an “artificial immigrant” within human-technology relations, posing threats to jobs and humanity. Guided by media framing and Integrated Threat Theory, analyzing 1,005 articles from four U.S. outlets reveals five main topics. Realistic threats (material/physical) are emphasized over symbolic ones (identity-based). Multiple correspondence analysis indicates that tech-related coverage skews toward realistic framing, while labor and creativity coverage encompass both, though associations are not statistically significant.