Q4: Technology Themes

Exploring Technology Themes in r/news Subreddits

In this part, we’re going to explore the tech news shared on the r/news subreddit. Our goal is to sift through the abundance of news articles and narrow down our focus to those specifically about technology. To do this, we use NLP technique to automatically identify and sort articles based on certain words and themes commonly associated with technology. We’ve identified 11 different themes within the tech world, which will guide our search for relevant news. Let’s dive in and see what we uncover!

Defined Themes and Keywords:

We have defined 11 thematic areas along with their corresponding keywords to capture various facets of technology:

Theme Keywords
Artificial Intelligence artificial intelligence, ai, chatgpt, gpt, openai, intelligence, machine intelligence, virtual intelligence
Machine Learning machine learning, ml, deep learning, neural networks, pattern recognition, predictive modeling, statistical learning
Natural Language Processing natural language processing, nlp, large language model, language understanding, text analysis, speech recognition
Computer Vision computer vision, visual recognition, image processing, object detection, scene understanding
Robotics robotics, autonomous vehicles, self-driving cars, robotic systems, automated vehicles
Virtual Assistants virtual assistants, chatbots, conversation agents, automated helpers
Analytics big data analytics, data analysis, data mining, data insights
Cloud Computing cloud computing, cloud services, cloud platforms, cloud infrastructure
Edge Computing edge computing, edge devices, edge analytics, edge networks
Internet of Things internet of things, iot, smart devices, connected devices
Quantum Computing quantum computing, quantum algorithms, quantum cryptography, quantum networks

Filtering and Analysis:

After using our predefined keywords to sift through the news articles, we found 31,402 comments and 2,700 submissions that match our criteria. These numbers represent a small percentage of the total news count, with comments making up 0.15% and submissions 0.31%. We then organized these records into various themes to uncover the most talked-about topics in technology-related news.

Insights:

Comments Division:

  • Our analysis uncovered that the main focus of most news articles is Artificial Intelligence (AI). While AI takes the spotlight, other topics like Machine Learning, Robotics, Virtual Assistants, and Internet of Things are also discussed, though not as frequently.
  • Interestingly, we didn’t find any news articles specifically discussing topics such as Computer Vision, Analytics, Cloud Computing, Edge Computing, or Quantum Computing between January 2021 and February 2023.

Submission Division:

  • Likewise, most of the posts are about Artificial Intelligence (AI). However, we also see a variety of other topics being discussed, like Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Robotics, and Virtual Assistants.
  • On the flip side, we didn’t find any posts specifically talking about topics like Quantum Computing, Edge Computing, Cloud Computing, Analytics, or Computer Vision during this time period.

Limitations:

We recognize the importance of being aware of any biases or limitations in our approach. There’s a chance we might have missed out on informal language or left out certain keywords, which could result in certain topics being underrepresented. Moreover, the way social media platforms like Reddit operate might influence the kinds of news articles that get shared and talked about, which could also affect our analysis.

However, despite these limitations, our exploration still offers valuable insights into the main technology topics discussed within the r/news subreddit during the chosen timeframe.