In our day and age, AI has become increasingly embedded in society and has infiltrated almost every imaginable workspace, particularly journalism.
According to the LSE (London School of Economics and Political Science), at least 75% of news organisations believe that generative AI presents new and fresh opportunities for the present and future of journalism. https://www.journalismai.info/research/2023-generating-change
Sentiment was shared by journalist Talub Amole, who said, “While writing compelling stories is an art form which requires human angles to make the reports relatable to the audience for public engagement, AI can help in polishing the stories to meet the area of technical standards, such as editorial reviews.
On the other hand, Journalism UK reported that in a survey, 34% of UK citizens say they use AI daily, but only 12% of them trust AI-generated news and have more trust in news that has human involvement in the writing process.
Furthermore, a survey conducted by Pressat found that Tomorrow’s publisher predicts AI will replace more roles in the future, with 57% of journalists expressing concern and worry about the massive impact of technology on their careers and 70% being concerned.
Furthermore, a staggering 80% of respondents expressed their belief that AI-generated news could potentially be biased or discriminatory.
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) found that 87% of media publishers say their newsrooms are ‘fully or somewhat’ affected by generative AI.
Despite the increasing prevalence of AI, written journalism remains hopeful. YouGov found that 48% of people in the UK trust news articles written and edited by humans. But that trust drops sharply when AI gets involved, falling to 25% if the journalist is AI; falling to 23% if the editor is AI; and falling to just 13% when both roles are handled by AI.
“AI is not a human enemy…it’s an accomplice poised to revolutionise creativity and productivity.”
Talub Amole
The Reuters Institute found that 63% of people in the UK have doubts about news that’s produced mostly by AI. Trust rises sharply when humans are involved; 35% of Britons trust news that’s mainly created by humans, compared with just 9% who trust news that’s mostly AI-generated.
Despite the negatives, AI also has the potential to create new jobs, as post-grad journalism student Joseph Blakely outlines. ”A few years ago, my role in journalism didn’t even exist, which I think illustrates that while the continued expansion of AI may lead to cuts in some places, it is allowing new and existing roles the freedom to grow and adapt.”