ChatGPT: Stream of opinion in five newspapers in the first 100 days since its launch

Abstract

In the last decade, journalism has progressively incorporated artificial intelligence (AI) into several processes: information analysis, content extraction, audience research, and automated copywriting, among others. ChatGPT, which has a great capacity for interacting with people through natural language and providing a response to almost any topic, focuses on content creation. This significant technological advancement rekindles the debate on whether machines will replace humans, including journalists. Focusing on the case of the Spanish press and using the framework of studying media participation in the public debate, we are interested in the press’s reaction to ChatGPT’s launch. Specifically, we asked the following questions: What were the issues that dominated the debate, and what voices were called upon to express their opinions? The stream of opinion on this issue was analyzed from a communication studies and discourse analysis perspective, starting with the identification of opinion statements expressed in articles of various journalistic genres conveyed by the press during the first 100 days since the launch of ChatGPT on November 30, 2022. We worked with 176 press articles that addressed the subject in five Spanish generalist newspapers. The results showed that the flow of opinion developed from 8 subtopics and 11 groups of voices. The prevailing opinion during this period was that ChatGPT is an extraordinary technological milestone, even if it makes mistakes that reveal the technology’s immaturity. The main shortcomings identified were the inability to distinguish between what is true and what is false, its tendency to function as a black box, and its failure to account for the sources it uses. However, owing to the business potential that it heralds, it is clear that a real war for the dominance of AI has broken out, which makes it necessary to put regulations in place to reduce the risks of malicious use.