Digital Communication Actors In The Formation Of Artificial Intelligence Discourse On Tiktok: A Netnographic Analysis

Milda Nurrahmawati; Ahmad Tony

doi:10.55227/ijhess.v6i1.2442

Authors

Milda Nurrahmawati Master of Communication Science, Budi Luhur University, Indonesia
Ahmad Tony Master of Communication Science, Budi Luhur University, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55227/ijhess.v6i1.2442

Keywords:

Digital communication actors; artificial intelligence discourse; TikTok; netnography; algorithmic public sphere

Abstract

The rapid popularization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has extended beyond academic and industrial spaces into everyday social media discourse, with TikTok emerging as one of the most active arenas for AI-related public conversation. Although prior research has extensively examined TikTok’s algorithmic affordances and AI-related content circulation, limited attention has been given to the communicative roles of digital actors who actively shape public discourse on AI within TikTok’s participatory environment. This study examines how digital communication actors contribute to the formation, circulation, and reinforcement of AI discourse on TikTok through a qualitative netnographic approach. Data were collected from 45 publicly accessible TikTok videos published between May 2024 and June 2026, through non-participant observation using purposive quota sampling based on seven AI-related hashtags: #ArtificialIntelligence, #AI, #ChatGPT, #AITools, #AIIndonesia, #TeknologiAI, and #MachineLearning. Engagement metrics including likes, comment counts, and save counts were documented for each video. The analysis identifies five dominant communicative roles performed by digital actors: educators, opinion leaders, popularizers, critics, and amplifiers. Each role contributes distinct narrative framings of AI as a productivity tool, an economic opportunity, a threat to employment, an ethical concern, or a popular cultural trend. TikTok is positioned as an algorithmic digital public sphere where technological discourse is shaped through content formats, hashtag structures, visible engagement dynamics, and platform visibility mechanisms rather than unilaterally transmitted

References

Bhandari, A., & Bimo, S. (2020). TIKTOK AND THE “ALGORITHMIZED SELF”: A NEW MODEL OF ONLINE INTERACTION. AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research. https://doi.org/10.5210/spir.v2020i0.11172

Bhandari, A., & Bimo, S. (2022). Why’s Everyone on TikTok Now? The Algorithmized Self and the Future of Self-Making on Social Media. Social Media + Society, 8. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221086241

Cervi, L., & Marín-Lladó, C. (2022). Freepalestine on TikTok: From performative activism to (meaningful) playful activism. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 15, 414–434. https://doi.org/10.1080/17513057.2022.2131883

Cheah, C. W. (2025). AI-Augmented Netnography: Ethical and Methodological Frameworks for Responsible Digital Research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 24. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069251338910

Gerbaudo, P. (2024). TikTok and the algorithmic transformation of social media publics: From social networks to social interest clusters. New Media & Society, 28, 1019–1036. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241304106

Grandinetti, J. (2021). Examining embedded apparatuses of AI in Facebook and TikTok. Ai & Society, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-021-01270-5

Hao, L. (2024). Algorithmic imaginary in surveillance technicity: The renegotiation of minzu identity among China’s ethnic minority wanghongs on Douyin. Global Media and China, 10, 331–352. https://doi.org/10.1177/20594364241307478

Hautea, S., Parks, P., Takahashi, B., & Zeng, J. (2021). Showing They Care (Or Don’t): Affective Publics and Ambivalent Climate Activism on TikTok. Social Media + Society, 7. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051211012344

Jerasa, S., & Burriss, S. (2024). Writing with, for, and against the algorithm: TikTokers’ relationships with AI as audience, co-author, and censor. English Teaching: Practice & Critique. https://doi.org/10.1108/etpc-08-2023-0100

Jones, C. (2023). How to train your algorithm: The struggle for public control over private audience commodities on Tiktok. Media, Culture & Society, 45, 1192–1209. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437231159555

Jungherr, A., & Schroeder, R. (2023). Artificial intelligence and the public arena. Communication Theory. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtad006

Kang, H., & Lou, C. (2022). AI agency vs. Human agency: Understanding human-AI interactions on TikTok and their implications for user engagement. J. Comput. Mediat. Commun., 27. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmac014

Karpova, K., & Borymska, O. (2022). My cyber self: Identity presentation on TikTok. Current Issues of Ukrainian Linguistics: Theory and Practice. https://doi.org/10.17721/apultp.2022.44.118-129

Montana, M. U., & Buzzo, C. (2025, June 4). A Discourse Analysis of AI Narratives in Spanish Speakers’ Social Media Platforms. European Conference on Social Media. https://doi.org/10.34190/ecsm.12.1.3686

Obreja, D.-M. (2024). When Stories Turn Institutional: How TikTok Users Legitimate the Algorithmic Sensemaking. Social Media + Society, 10. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231224114

Okviosa, A., Gunarian, N., Novianty, S. M., & Arrianie, L. (2025). Framing Digital Ethics in Participatory Media: A Qualitative Analysis of the AI Face-Swap Challenge on TikTok. Jurnal Locus Penelitian Dan Pengabdian. https://doi.org/10.58344/locus.v4i11.4697

Omeish, F., Shaheen, A., Alharthi, S., & Alfaiza, A. (2025). Between human and AI influencers: Parasocial relationships, credibility, and social capital formation in a collectivist market: A study of TikTok users in the Middle East. Discover Sustainability, 6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-00891-w

Quick, M., & Maddox, J. (2024). Us, Them, Right, Wrong: How TikTok’s Green Screen, Duet, and Stitch help shape political discourse. First Monday, 29. https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v29i3.13360

Razali, G., & Ramonita, L. (2025). Visual Communication Psychology in the Age of AI: An Audience Perception Analysis of Face Filters on TikTok Media. RIGGS: Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Business. https://doi.org/10.31004/riggs.v4i2.465

Richter, V. (2025). TIKTOK’S AI HYPE - CREATORS’ ROLE IN SHAPING (PUBLIC) AI IMAGINARIES. AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research. https://doi.org/10.5210/spir.v2024i0.14046

Sahi, N. F., Irfan, H., & Sammad, A. (2026). AI as Discourse Actor: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Transactional and Interactional Functions in Social Media Video Content. ACADEMIA International Journal for Social Sciences. https://doi.org/10.63056/academia.5.2(a).2026.1749

Schellewald, A. (2021). Communicative Forms on TikTok: Perspectives From Digital Ethnography. https://consensus.app/papers/communicative-forms-on-tiktok-perspectives-from-digital-schellewald/e80cc5d9b16f521386158724d70fc3d7/

Schellewald, A. (2022). Theorizing “Stories About Algorithms” as a Mechanism in the Formation and Maintenance of Algorithmic Imaginaries. Social Media + Society, 8. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221077025

Ulloa-López, P., Del Alcázar Ponce, J. P., & Benavides, A. (2025). Netnography and Discourse Analysis in Digital Environments: Methodological Convergences for the Study of Virtual Communities in the Age of Algorithms. Journal of Posthumanism. https://doi.org/10.63332/joph.v5i7.2984

Ulrich, T. (2025, May 20). The Social Life of ChatGPT: Insights From TikTok. European Conference on Social Media. https://doi.org/10.34190/ecsm.12.1.3517

Wijaya, M. A., & Melissa, E. (2025). Analyzing Tiktok’s AI and Heuristic Trust in Health Content for Young Parents. 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1109/iciss66954.2025.11389419

Zhao, Y. (2024). TikTok and Researcher Positionality: Considering the Methodological and Ethical Implications of an Experimental Digital Ethnography. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 23. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069231221374

Zulli, D., & Zulli, D. J. (2020). Extending the Internet meme: Conceptualizing technological mimesis and imitation publics on the TikTok platform. New Media & Society, 24, 1872–1890. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444820983603