Visual Metaphors and Discursive Strategies in AI Editorial Cartoons: A Cognitive Linguistic Approach

Metaphors significantly shape our understanding of societal issues, influencing how we perceive and react to them. With AI technology becoming increasingly prevalent, it has become a popular subject for cartoonists who use their art to convey diverse opinions about its impact. This study examines how AI is portrayed in editorial cartoons, focusing on visual metaphors, inferred metaphors (i.e., metaphors inferred from the image and/or text), and discursive practices cartoonists employ to communicate their messages. Applying Lakoff and Johnson’s metaphor model, the study finds that AI is often depicted with a skeptical or cautionary tone, emphasizing its potential effects on human cognition and creativity. The study identified a variety of visual metaphors in which AI technology is represented as a reflective entity confronted with existential inquiries, a reflective thinker, a liberator/controller of human cognition, an explorer within the labyrinth of human knowledge, the next stage in evolutionary progress, a naïve mind confronted by the weight of human wisdom, an explorer of novel frontiers, akin to the romantic figures of the historical past, and an agent of destruction concerning human knowledge. Cartoonists use discursive strategies such as anthropomorphism, metaphorical representation, intertextuality, symbolism, irony, and humor to express their perspectives and ideological viewpoints on AI technology. The findings highlight the need for ongoing ethical and philosophical reflection as AI becomes more integrated into daily life.