Comparing the Deficiency Model Approach and the Dialogue Modeling Media Coverage of Emerging Technologies

Abstract

The proliferation of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), gene editing, nanotechnology, and quantum computing, has intensified scholarly debate over the most effective model for communicating them to the public. This systemic review compared the traditional Deficiency Model (one-way public education and deficit framing) against the Dialogue Modeling approach (two-way public engagement and participatory co-production) in media coverage of emerging technologies over the past decade (2016–2026). A systematic scoping study of 115 records using a thematic analysis retrieved across international and regional databases identified 28 eligible articles after screening, evaluating a decade-long comparison of deficit versus dialogue communication models in science journalism. By integrating Nigerian empirical data, this report addresses local implementation gaps and balances institutional constraints against public engagement goals. The results of the data analysis revealed a persistent reliance on the deficiency model, with 64% of articles employing one-way framing, while dialogue-based approaches are limited to 28% of specialized media. High-risk topics like AI and biotechnology frequently trigger fear-driven narratives, and the low adoption of hybrid models (8%) highlights a slow, contested transition toward participatory communication. These findings suggest a persistent divide between rapid, one-way traditional reporting and nuanced, long-form discussion, with high-risk topics tending to elicit alarmist framing. The study concluded that the decade-long overview revealed a slow, contested pivot toward dialogue, yet the deficiency model remains deeply entrenched in how the media frames high-risk, high-reward technologies. Hence, urgently needed is a true democratic governance of technology requires structural transformation of newsrooms to embed participatory protocols; incentivize collaborative journalism models that co-host public forums alongside technical reporting and restructure editorial guidelines to measure story success by engagement quality rather than mere reach; and integrate dialogue-based communication modules into journalism and STEM curricula.