A.I. AND MEDIA

November 26, 2023 Opinion

Will artificial intelligence (AI) replace journalists? The media landscape is revolutionized with the
advancement of AI, from content creation to consumer engagement, it has made its presence felt.
Some sectors or, should I say naysayers, predict the demise of journalism because of AI. I say otherwise, there is no death of journalism, as it is one of the most resilient industries which has stood the test of time.

What is AI?

AI is your ATM, your email auto response, your social media face app, your favorite online game, your translator, the reverse image search, it’s the fact checking tool, AI can analyze vast amounts of data to uncover patterns, trends, and insights. AI’s power lies in the ability to automate tasks, analyze data, and personalize experiences, handling tedious and repetitive tasks, freeing humans to focus on more important tasks.

AI is everywhere, so why is the journalism industry on a shakedown?

Generative AI is a type of AI that can generate new content, such as images, text, and audio. It does this by learning the patterns and structure of data that it is trained on, and then using this knowledge to create new data that is similar to the training data. AI is being used to create content including datasets of text and code to generate new content, such as news articles, blog posts, and even scripts for movies and TV shows. It is being used by the grammatically challenged to clean their paragraphs or worse rely on AI generators to make content for them.

What AI cannot do?

AI cannot capture the heart of the story nor emotions we get from our sources which we translate into our articles, broadcasts, videos and radio content. AI will never be able to deliver humanness because it has no emotions, no life. AI cannot replace field work and how a reporter sees the events
as it unfolds.

What should we do?

We should assure AI use is governed by law and regulation that meet basic journalism ethics on balanced and fair presentation of the news and democratic principles which protect journalists and
not expose them to legal danger. We should agree that AI will be used as a tool to present story angles and sources which will empower the public to form informed opinions. In the pursuit of fairness and balance, a declaration of using AI tools to assist humans COULD be declared by outfits
with the assurance of human supervision and overall control.

Editors COULD ask reporters to declare AI tool used in developing the story / image submitted and would be subjected to editorial prerogative New agencies could provide AI / Tools to be used
and capacitate staff on its responsible use and limits We must use AI as tools to combat misinformation, identify biases, and promote responsible journalism. AI can also facilitate
collaboration among media professionals, enabling them to share knowledge, resources, and expertise. AI is to be governed by humans.

Should journalists be afraid?

No, we will conquer AI with education, we should learn and learn and be in control, there is nothing to fear. Journalism will stand supreme, and AI will NOT take over.