Journal of Media Literacy Education Pre-Prints
Document Type
Research Article
Abstract
This article adapts the 5Cs framework of news literacy—context, creation, content, circulation, and consumption—to media environments shaped by generative artificial intelligence. We argue that prevailing discussions of AI literacy overemphasize technical or functional competencies while underemphasizing the social, cultural, political, and communicative systems in which AI operates. Drawing on previous research, we define AI literacy as knowledge of the technical, social, and ethical dimensions of AI-mediated content production, distribution, and consumption, along with the critical capacities needed to exercise agency within those processes. We show how the 5Cs can be reinterpreted for generative AI environments and integrate pedagogical implications for secondary and postsecondary education. We conclude that the 5Cs offer a flexible, civically oriented framework for expanding AI literacy beyond tool use toward a more critical understanding of AI’s role in media systems and public knowledge.
Recommended Citation
Ashley, S., Maksl, A., & Cook, P. (2026). Expanding AI Literacy: The 5Cs of News Literacy in the Era of Generative AI. Journal of Media Literacy Education Pre-Prints. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/jmle-preprints/66
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
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Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Journalism Studies Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons