Abstract
Generative-artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) has the capacity to alter knowledge production and sense-making behaviours, arguably the core business of education. This, coupled with their rapid development means considerable media attention has been devoted to Gen-AI systems. This chapter presents a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of Australian newspaper articles covering Gen-AI in education during 2023. Newspapers have long influenced the discursive making of educational realities, but regarding new technology, often rely upon reductionist and dichotomous discourses. Following Fairclough, I analyse how certain textual features—namely metaphor and modality—draw upon and strengthen these discourses, and naturalise particular constructions of Gen-AI and educational stakeholders. The utility of Cohen’s moral panic for understanding this patterned response is also considered. I identify four root metaphors and problematise their reliance upon habitual framings for representing new technology. While both utopic and dystopic visions are found in metaphor, analyses point to a predominantly favourable stance of Gen-AI. I show how this stance is further strengthened via modal tendencies which draw upon deterministic discourses to validate the powers of Gen-AI. These findings are discussed as further evidence of the complex co-option of discourses surrounding edtech towards particular ideological and economic landscapes. I discuss why limited discursive representations of Gen-AI are problematic in education, demonstrating the capacity for CDA to help map and deepen these representations.