How news media make emerging technological risks visible shapes how those technologies enter public debate. This study examines generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) risk representation in Australian digital news through a mixed-methods content analysis of 379 articles from seven outlets published between 2020 and March 2024. Ethical, legal, and regulatory compliance risks receive the most attention, followed by economic and employment concerns and technical performance risks, while sociocultural and mental health risks remain marginal. Extinction risk also receives substantial coverage. Public outlets give greater attention to governance, education, and sociocultural concerns, whereas private outlets more often emphasize technical and extinction risks. Public outlets also contain more original reporting and Australian contextualization. Across the sample, GPT is frequently named but rarely explained in technical detail, while developing country and Global South contexts receive limited attention. These findings contribute to a contextual understanding of how GenAI risks are represented in Australian digital news.
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Chenchen Wang (2026) studied this question.
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