From promise to concern: Public perceptions of AI in ESG frameworks over time

This study investigates how public sentiment toward Artificial Intelligence (AI) has evolved at the intersection of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks and the rising field of Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) over the past 25 years. Drawing on a dataset of 33,628 news articles published between 2000 and 2025, we conduct a large-scale longitudinal sentiment analysis to identify discursive patterns in the perception of AI’s role across the ESG dimensions. Our findings reveal substantial variation across the three pillars. While sentiment toward AI in governance contexts shows a consistently positive trend, associated with increased expectations for transparency, monitoring, and compliance, environmental sentiment exhibits a sharp downturn after 2022, reflecting concerns over the carbon footprint of generative AI technologies. The social dimension displays fluctuating sentiment, influenced by debates on automation, fairness, and ethical accountability. These differentiated trajectories suggest that AI legitimacy is a domain-specific and socially negotiated construct, rather than a uniform outcome of technological advancement. Public discourse, as captured in news media, functions as an anticipatory indicator of emerging regulatory tensions and reputational risks, offering valuable foresight for corporate and institutional decision-makers. This study contributes to the literature on technology and society by highlighting the role of sentiment dynamics in shaping AI governance and sustainability strategies. It provides both theoretical insights into the social construction of technological legitimacy and practical implications for the design of responsive, context-sensitive ESG policies in the age of digital transformation. • Sentiment analysis of 33,628 news articles on AI and ESG from 2000 to 2025 • Diverging sentiment trends across ESG pillars reveal AI's uneven legitimacy • Environmental sentiment reverses after 2022 amid generative AI concerns • Social sentiment remains volatile, driven by fairness and automation debates • Media sentiment offers early signals for policy, strategy, and governance