The rise of artificial intelligence is forcing a growing number of journalists to grapple with the ethical and editorial challenges posed by rapidly expanding technology.
At the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy, which concludes on Sunday, one of the questions asked was the role of AI in supporting or completely transforming newsrooms.
– What will happen to employment? –
AI tools that mimic human intelligence are widely used in newsrooms around the world to transcribe audio files, summarize text, and translate.
In early 2023, Germany's Axel Springer Group announced job cuts at Bild and Die Welt newspapers, saying AI could “replace” some of its journalists.
Generative AI, which can generate text and images in response to simple requests in everyday language, has been breaking new ground and raising concerns for the past year and a half.
One problem is that we can now clone voices and faces to create podcasts and show news on TV. Last year, Filipino website Rappler launched a youth-oriented brand by converting long articles into comics, graphics, and even videos.
Media professionals agree that their jobs must now focus on those that provide the greatest “value-add.”
“You're the ones doing the work,” Shailesh Prakash, general manager of Google News, said at a festival in Perugia. “The tools we build become your assistants.”
– All about money –
Since ChatGPT debuted in late 2022, the cost of generative AI has plummeted and the tool, designed by US startup OpenAI, has become available to even small newsrooms.
Colombian investigative journalism agency Cuestion Publica has developed a tool that allows it to use its engineers to comb its archives and find relevant background information when breaking news occurs.
However, many media organizations have not created their own language models that are the core of their AI interfaces, says Natali Herberger, a professor at the University of Amsterdam. These are necessary for “safe and reliable technology,” he stressed.
– The threat of disinformation –
According to one estimate published last year by Everypixel Journal, AI created as many images in one year as it created photos in 150 years.
This raises serious questions about how news can be extracted from the tidal wave of content containing deepfakes.
Media and technology organizations are working together to tackle this threat, particularly through the Coalition for Content Origin and Authenticity, which aims to set common standards.
“At the heart of our work is reporting and on-the-ground reporting,” said Sophie Huet, who was recently appointed Agence France-Presse's global news director for editorial innovation and artificial intelligence.
“We're going to rely on human reporters for a while,” she added. However, it may require the help of artificial intelligence.
– From the Wild West era to regulation –
Media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders has expanded its media rights brief to include defending trustworthy news, announcing the Paris Charter on AI and Journalism late last year.
“One of the things I really liked about the Paris Charter was the emphasis on transparency,” said Anya Shiffrin, lecturer in global media, innovation, and human rights at Columbia University.
“How much should publishers disclose when using Generative IA?”
“There is a serious debate going on about whether you should mark out AI content or whether people should trust your brand,” said Ole Zachrisson, head of AI and news strategy at public broadcaster Swedish Radio. Ta.
Regulation is still in its infancy in the face of ever-evolving technology.
In March, the European Parliament adopted a framework law aimed at regulating AI models without hindering innovation, while guidelines and charters are becoming increasingly common in newsrooms.
India's Quintillion Media updates its AI editorial guidelines every three months, said Ritu Kapur, the company's boss.
None of this organization's articles could be written by AI, and the images produced by AI cannot represent real life.
– Will you resist or cooperate? –
AI models feed data, but the hunger for critical goods is causing discomfort among providers.
In December, the New York Times sued OpenAI and its major investor Microsoft for copyright infringement.
In contrast, other media organizations have also signed deals with OpenAI. They are Axel Springer, the American news agency AP, French daily Le Monde, El País and Purisa Media, the Spanish group whose titles include his AS newspaper.
Collaborating with new technologies is attractive because the media industry's resources are stretched thin, explains Emily Bell, a professor at Columbia University's School of Journalism.
She feels increasing pressure from outside to “get on the train, don't miss the train.”
Rev/Im/J
