Communicating AI Ethics: A Thematic Analysis of Expert Discourse (2020-2025)

Abstract

This study explores how expert public discourse addresses key ethical concerns related to artificial intelligence (AI). While much of the existing literature on AI ethics draws on scholarly or policy-based sources, less attention has been paid to how these concerns are communicated to the broader public. TED Talks serve as an important discursive space where complex technological debates are translated for mass audiences by domain experts. Twenty TED Talks (N = 20) on AI literacy and ethics delivered between 2020 and 2025 are examined using inductive thematic analysis. The study identifies recurring issues which are grouped into three core thematic categories: transparency and interpretability, autonomy and power, and structural inequities in AI infrastructure. The first category includes concerns about the opacity of AI systems and the authority granted to machine-generated outputs. The second addresses challenges related to surveillance, human agency, market concentration, and civic participation. The third highlights systemic disparities such as the digital divide, environmental burdens, and control over foundational AI infrastructure. These themes are subsequently interpreted through the lenses of hermeneutics, critical theory of technology, and data justice. The findings contribute to understanding how ethical concerns are framed and narrated in public discourse. They can inform AI literacy initiatives as well as regulatory communication aimed at educators, media professional, and civil society at large.