How AI is Helping Journalists? AI’s Potential in Newsrooms and Reporting

Key Takeaways:

• As AI has proven its capability across various industries over the years, people are now talking about its potential in journalism.
• Many reports are saying AI has a key role to play in journalism, however, several are warning against its use for sensitive topics.
• Biasness and fairness, loss of human judgment, misinformation, and ethical dilemmas are some key challenges of AI in journalism. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a catalyst for several industries, revolutionizing everything from product designing and development to its delivery. With its increasing potential, newsrooms are trying to churn out content with AI. Berrow’s Worcester Journal is a weekly freesheet tabloid newspaper that uses “AI-assisted” journalists to report on local news.

Newsquest, the Brighton and Hove Argus, and the Lancashire Telegraph are some other publishing names that have hired eight “AI-assisted” reporters in various newsrooms across their countries in the past year. Despite the great influence of AI in various industries, the journalism sector is quite skeptical about its use.

Many surveys found that most news consumers are uncomfortable with AI-driven journalism. Even, many reporters are scared of losing their jobs to AI. However, experts highlight that AI may boost their work in creative ways. The founder of RadioNow Kadaria Ahmed says that the technology can only support journalists in optimising their work but cannot replace great work around accountability and holding the government accountable.

AI in journalism offers numerous benefits allowing newsrooms and reporters to perform data-driven reporting and more.

Also Read: How AI in Education is Transforming The Future of Learning

Potential of AI in Journalism

Artificial intelligence in journalism is no longer a future thing; it is already happening now. But before diving deep into who is making the most out of this technology, let us have a look at the benefits of AI in journalism.

Efficiency and Productivity: AI allows journalists to focus their attention on more complex and creative aspects of their work. It automates mundane tasks such as data entry, basic reporting, and transcription, leading to improved productivity and more time for in-depth investigations.

Audience Engagement: AI leads to personalized content recommendations and interactive automation features that can enhance reader engagement. Understanding audience preferences allows newsrooms to deliver more relevant and compelling stories.

Cost Savings: By minimizing the need for manual work in certain areas, automation can help in reducing operational costs. This can be particularly beneficial for emerging news organizations with limited resources.

Challenges of AI in Journalism

Alongside several benefits, there are many challenges to using artificial intelligence in the journalism field, which are as follows: 

• Ethical Concerns
• Dependence on Technology
• Privacy Concerns
• Fact-Checking and Verification
• Data Journalism

Real-World Examples of AI in Journalism

Several news organizations around the world are harnessing the power of AI tools for various tasks such as research, transcribing interviews, and content creation.

Channel 1, a Los Angeles-based startup, introduced a novel concept: AI-powered news anchors. The company released a 22-minute video on social media, exhibiting AI-generated news anchors delivering the day’s news.

ERT1, a Greek free-to-air television channel, introduced an AI news anchor – Hermes – in May 2023. India Today Group, an Indian news network, also introduced AI news anchor Sana in March 2023. 

South Korea’s SBS used Zae-In, an AI-powered deepfake, that broadcasts news. Many similar examples of AI used in journalism have been seen in other countries.

Despite the increased use of AI in journalism, there is a question arises will viewers trust AI-powered news over human news anchors?

A survey by public opinion polling firm Ipsos found that trust in the humans presenting the news has dropped to an all-time low. According to it, 42 percent of people say they trust TV News Readers, down from 58% in 2022.

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Is Journalism Possible With AI?

Several new AI tools are coming up in the scenario making content creation and data pulling from vast data sets easier. ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini are the most used AI tools by journalists. These tools are majorly used for:

• Research of certain topics
• Creating outlines or drafts of content
• Brainstorming new story ideas
• Creating multimedia
• Learning more about audiences

Conversely, many journalists are fear of losing their jobs as organizations are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI). For example, Germany’s Axel Springer group, in early 2023, announced it was cutting jobs at the Bild and Die Welt newspapers, saying that AI could now “replace” some of its journalists”.

Another challenge of using AI is that it can contribute to the spread of even more fake news. According to an estimate by Everypixel Journal in 2023, AI has generated as many images in one year as photography in 150 years. With this, questions about how news can be fished out of the tidal wave of content, including deepfakes arose.

Another important question raised is how trustworthy the information presented by AI is. Are news and media organizations prepared to tackle such challenges? Well, there are a lot of factors they must consider in order to deliver trustworthy news to their viewers.

Key factors to combat these challenges effectively:

• Addressing bias and ensuring fairness through diverse training data, regular audits, and inclusive design. 
• Maintaining human judgment through human-AI collaboration and editorial oversight.
• Combating misinformation and deepfakes through verification tools and public awareness.
• Protecting privacy through data protection policies and ethical use of data.
• Enhancing transparency and accountability
• Upholding ethical standards
• Maintaining quality of journalism through balanced content creation and feedback mechanisms.

Also Read: Next-Gen Workplace: The Potential of AI in The Future of Work

Conclusion

AI has the potential to transform journalism in profound ways. The technology offers various benefits ranging from increased efficiency to accuracy, and audience engagement. However, it also brings challenges that must be carefully addressed to preserve the core values of journalism. 

As technology continues to advance, the collaboration between human journalists and AI will determine the future of news reporting. This will significantly lead to more innovative and impactful storytelling.

Also Read:

• ChatGPT vs Gemini: Everything Revealed
• 10 Best AI Image Generator Platforms to Unleash Your Creativity

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