Artificial intelligence puts journalists in trouble too: report

The increasing use of artificial intelligence in journalism raises ethical and editorial challenges.

Journalists are facing new ethical and editorial challenges due to the increasing use of artificial intelligence.

Questions raised at the International Journalism Festival in the Italian city of Perugia raised several questions regarding the role of artificial intelligence in helping newsrooms or replacing them entirely.

AI tools that mimic human intelligence are widely used in newsrooms around the world to transcribe audio files, summarize and translate the text of a report.

In early 2023, German media group Axel Springer cut jobs at two of its newspapers, announcing that artificial intelligence was now replacing some journalists.

A tool called Generative AI is capable of generating text and images on a simple request in plain language, but it’s raising concerns along with ease.

One problem is that voices and faces can now be cloned to create podcasts or broadcast news on television.

Last year, Filipino website Rappler gained popularity among a younger audience by turning its long articles into comics, graphics and even videos.

Media professionals agree that they must now focus on tasks that involve additional qualities.

“You’re the one doing the real thing, and the tools we build will help you,” Shailesh Prakash, general manager of Google News, said at an event in Perugia.

The cost of generative AI has come down since ChatGPT went public in late 2022 as tools designed by US startup OpenAI are accessible to small newsrooms.

Columbia investigative outlet QuestionRepublic has commissioned engineers to develop a tool that can search its archives and find relevant background and relevant information in the case of breaking news.

“Many media organizations are not building the language models that are central to AI interfaces,” said Natalie Hellberger, a professor at the University of Amsterdam.

They are needed for ‘safe and reliable technology’, he stressed.

According to an estimate last year by EveryPixel Journal, AI has taken as many photos in one year as real photographers can take in 150 years.

The agency has raised serious questions regarding how news can be sifted through a sea of ​​content, including deepfake news.

Media and tech organizations are working together to address this threat, notably through the ‘Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity’, an effort to establish common standards.

Sophie Hewitt, global news director for editorial innovation and artificial intelligence at the French news agency AFP, said: ‘Our main work is news gathering and on-the-ground reporting. We will (also in the future) rely on human reporters even though artificial intelligence can help.’

Reporters Without Borders, an international organization of journalists, issued the ‘Paris Charter’ last year regarding AI and journalism.

Anya Shiffrin, lecturer in global media, innovation and human rights at Columbia University in the US, said: ‘One thing I really liked regarding the Paris Charter was the emphasis on transparency. ‘To what extent will publishers have to tell when they are using generative AI?’

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Ole Zakrisson, head of AI and news strategy at public broadcaster Swedish Radio, said: ‘There is a serious debate going on whether you should brand AI-based content or whether people should trust your brand. ?’

The Code of Conduct is in its infancy given the constantly evolving technology.

In March this year, the European Parliament passed a framework law aimed at regulating AI models without stifling innovation, while guidelines and related charters are increasingly common in newsrooms.

Ritu Kapur, head of Indian organization Quintlin Media, said that her organization updates its editorial guidelines on artificial intelligence every three months.

He added that none of his institution’s articles can be written by artificial intelligence tools and that AI-generated images cannot represent real life.

In December, The New York Times sued OpenAI and its main investor Microsoft for copyright infringement.

In contrast, other media organizations have signed contracts with AI, including Axel Springer, the US news agency Associated Press, the French daily Le Monde and the Spanish group Pressa Media.

Emily Bell, a professor at Columbia University’s School of Journalism, explained that the new technology is attractive because of resource constraints in the media industry.