This week, US news outlets reported that tech giant Google is testing an artificial intelligence (AI) tool with the ability to create news articles.
Google reportedly pitched the idea to executives at News Corp (owner of The Wall Street Journal), The Washington Post and The New York Times. According to The New York Times, Google promises the new AI tool will be “a sort of personal assistant for journalists” with the ability to automate tasks, freeing up time for journalists to focus on more important tasks.
The tech giant also sees the new tool as a form of “responsible technology” that will enable the media industry to overcome and stem the negative effects of artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence and its implications for journalism have been a hot topic for some time now. The idea of machines taking over newsroom tasks traditionally done by humans, such as news writing, provokes mixed emotions for journalists, while also opening up new opportunities for the media.
AI is already being used in the media industry to recommend content, process audience-related data, subtitle videos, transcribe interviews, and more. AI has proven critical to data journalism, helping journalists process vast amounts of data to single out important patterns and tell big stories. Some media organizations, such as the Associated Press, are using AI to produce data-driven sports stories. Reuters is reportedly using AI to report on stock markets and corporate earnings.
Germany’s largest tabloid, Bild, owned by Axel Springer, recently announced that it would replace a third of its workforce (about 600) with artificial intelligence. “In the future there will not be editors, layout artists, proofreaders, publishers and photo editors as we know them today,” Bild’s editor-in-chief said in an email to staff.
fear and anxiety
Journalists are right to express fears and anxieties about the impact of AI on their professions, but media executives responsible for strategy and resources appear to be more open to AI and its cost-saving and efficiency-enhancing capabilities.
We can expect to see more discussions between tech companies and the media about incorporating AI into the newsroom, and perhaps more partnerships in this space.
On the other hand, there is a lively debate about AI locally. The use of AI is still in its early stages, and some local media are using AI for content recommendations and data journalism, but we have yet to see concrete AI-generated articles in local media.
As the debate around AI grows around the world, it is critical that local media organizations invest time and resources to discover and learn more about AI, especially its impact on storytelling. So far, we have seen various seminars and workshops exploring the fundamentals of AI. But the local media industry needs a deeper and more nuanced understanding of AI’s capabilities and threats, and more importantly, to ensure it can respond to AI disruption in the newsroom.
– Dr. Chege is a media and technology researcher.
