RUNNING HEAD: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN SOCIAL MEDIA 1
Artificial Intelligence in Social Media
University of Connecticut
Media Literacy and Criticism
December 15, 2020
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN SOCIAL MEDIA 2
Introduction
After researching different types of technology used in social media, it was decided that
this study will focus on artificial intelligence (AI) in social media. The use of AI in social media
is becoming a large part of media usage in today’s world and its use is becoming the norm in
most aspects of technology. AI in social media has given many social media platforms the ability
to change the view and content for each and every user. This includes serving up ads using
previous search history based on cookies, and giving users specific suggestions as to whom they
should follow, what they should buy, and especially this year, political ads that attempt to
influence user views and opinions. After researching how AI affects social media, mediatization
emerged as a good example of the use of AI in this capacity. Mediatization is a theory that
describes how media platforms shape and frame the processes and written content of political
communication as well as the society in which that communication takes place. Mediatization
can be observed in AI in social media because AI can shape the content and the type of media
the users see, such as voice, video, graphics, or print, as well as how often they are exposed to it
in terms of ad exposure and political influence. The purpose of this paper is to take a deep dive
into how AI affects the content displayed to social media users in order to educate them that
what each user sees on a day to day basis is influenced by AI.
Researching AI and its influences on social media is very important to expanding users’
knowledge of media literacy and criticism because it allows people to understand the influence
media has on the media population, which allows media users to be more critical and insightful
in terms of how everyday users view and understand the role of social media. This is a very
interesting topic, especially in this election year. This type of knowledge does not only help
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people understand more about the influences of AI, but as this is an evolving topic, it will help
educate people to be more aware of social media advantages and disadvantages. As stated by
Voorveld et al. (2018), AI has been increasingly more prevalent in different types of social
media that assist with advertising. Companies have found that each platform requires a different
and unique way of reaching their audiences. This type of research is also useful because it
allows media users on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat to use
social media smarter and not be susceptible to false information, unwanted ads, unwanted
suggestions or falling victim to fraudulent activity.
So why is this so important to our generation of media users and the ones to come?
Social media platforms continue to create different ways to influence their users through AI. One
article on this topic found to be particularly interesting is on The Next Scoop’s website,
thenextscoop.com., called “The Effect of Artificial Intelligence on Social Media.” The article
talks about the various new technologies that are being added to the user interface. Social media
organizations are specifically starting to implement forms of AI called chatbots and virtual
assistants in order to provide better user experience and customer service. This article, along with
others like this, will help users who want to learn beyond the surface about how social media
companies are introducing various forms of AI into everyone’s user interface, which can impact
users positively and negatively.
Literature Review
Mediatization
Mediatization is a theory and construct that states that it’s the media’s influence which
shapes the processes and conversation of communication as well as the society in which that
communication takes place. As media becomes more and more involved in the lives of people
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across the world, it has also become more persuasive by using certain tactics that can change
people’s opinions and views on certain topics. As mediatization becomes more prevalent of an
accepted practice in the consumption of media people choose to access, it is reasonable to
assume that AI in social media has a positive impact on mediatization and media consumption as
a whole. As stated in Schulz (2014), the internet is a “bundle of different media and modalities
that offer a plethora of options to communicate within them.” Because of the increased media
that is saturating our lives today, the use of AI is determined by what each platform wants its
users to see.
AI can be a large factor in mediatization because of its automated response to each
unique user’s likes and dislikes based on what that user views on social media. Mediatization not
only allows us to see where there are common areas of media that are influenced, but also lets us
see how each and every person is affected by the clashing views and beliefs that are being
presented.
AI in Advertising
Advertising has become a large part of the media that we see today. Companies are
increasing their advertising to the large media platforms that are able to share their content with
millions of people. Advertising has been and continues to be the main vehicle companies use to
get their name in the marketplace to promote their products or services. Advertising is not only
for the mainstream companies that we see on a day to day basis like McDonalds or Chick-fil-A,
but for political campaigns as well. The best example of this was our 2020 presidential
campaign. The Democratic and Republican parties were at a constant battle to undermine one
another using different forms of persuasive tactics to make the other party look less qualified for
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the position of President of the United States. Many media users can be uneducated about the
political party that they support, which is why the opposing parties try to sway their opinions.
AI has been brought into advertising to create an easier way for companies and
politicians to promote their businesses and ideologies while also creating a personal experience
for each and every user that came in contact with their advertisements. AI has recently been used
in media to help users in a positive light. An example of such use was when Li (2019),
mentioned that media platforms will start giving gift ideas to users whose friends’ birthday is
coming up in a couple days. This small, harmless example of AI is a good example of combining
AI and advertising when used on a larger scale.
Facebook Advertising
