Artificial Intelligence in Crisis Communication: Toward a Responsible Framework for Emergency Information Management

Abstract

Artificial intelligence is increasingly reshaping how people search for information, produce messages, evaluate sources, interact with media platforms, and participate in public communication. In this context, communication education must move beyond traditional media literacy and digital literacy to include AI literacy and algorithmic awareness. Although existing studies have conceptualized AI literacy as a set of competencies for understanding, using, evaluating, and ethically engaging with AI technologies, less attention has been paid to how AI literacy should be integrated into communication education. This conceptual article proposes a framework for AI literacy in communication education, focusing on three dimensions: critical understanding of AI-mediated communication, algorithmic awareness in platform societies, and ethical responsibility in human–AI communication. Drawing on human–machine communication, AI literacy, media literacy, and critical algorithm studies, the article argues that communication students need not only technical knowledge of AI but also critical, ethical, and communicative competencies for understanding how AI shapes visibility, authorship, credibility, persuasion, and public discourse. The article contributes to the field by repositioning AI literacy as a core component of communication education and by offering a curriculum-oriented framework for future teaching and research.