The Future of the News Industry through Artificial Intelligence.

The Future of the News Industry through Artificial Intelligence.

By Sher Muhammad Khan Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a solid ally in journalism in the ever-changing landscape of media, and, in some cases, a controversial disrupter. AI is transforming the way news is produced, consumed, and distributed, with automated news writing, fact-checking and audience analysis being some of the most notable transformations. Nevertheless, what does this spell out in the future of journalism? Let's dive in. The Rise of AI in Newsrooms In the past ten years, AI has creepily taken over in newsrooms around the world. By using AI tools, major organizations such as The Washington Post, Reuters, and Associated Press have begun to write stories at a pace never before seen before. As an example, the Washington Post has its Heliograph system that can be used to write short pieces of news including sporting events and election updates on-the-fly. This automation will enable journalists to specialise more on the in-depth reporting, investigations and story telling-areas where the creativity and human judgment shine.

  AI can also be used in managing large volumes of data. The ability to scan through complex datasets in seconds, through algorithms, allows journalists to find trends or anomalies that otherwise would require days or weeks to be identified by human beings. The technology has become critical to data-driven journalism particularly in the fields of financial reporting, politics and environmental investigations. Automation: Curse or a Blessing? As much as AI is efficient and fast, it has its own concerns. Job displacement is one of the concerns. In case AI is able to produce a simple piece of writing within seconds, what becomes of entry-level reporters or copywriters? The fear is not baseless, however, the vast majority of experts are sure that AI is not coming to substitute journalists, it is coming to assist them. ad-tag_iframe-sync_master The AI is an imaginary super-intelligent assistant. It is capable of doing the routine jobs such as summarizing reports or creating snippets of breaking news, which leaves the human journalists free to be creative, ethical, and tell stories. In a nutshell, AI can take the place of tasks, but not talent. The other difficulty is accuracy. Artificial intelligence systems are based on data, and when the information that is inputted in them is biased or incomplete, the result may be misleading. This is the reason why human monitoring is very important. To make sure that the content generated by AI meets the standards of journalistic integrity, journalists should check and correct them. Artificial Intelligence in Fact-Checking and combating Misinformation. The process of fact-checking has never been as important as it is in the age of fake news and deepfakes. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools have now been utilized to identify fake news by verifying various sources of information. Google fact check tools, such as that of Google, can, to an extent, help journalists confirm or disprove the statements within a minute, and AI-based tools such as Full Fact and Claim Review automatically label the potentially suspicious information shared on the internet.

Furthermore, AI is being exploited to identify doctored photos, videos and audio files. Deepfake detector programs check the pixel, lighting and audio discrepancies and determine edited content. This technological support helps journalists to fight fake news more quickly and efficiently than it is possible manually. Individualization and Customer Interaction. AI does not only contribute to the production of the news, but also the personalization of the news. Numerous news websites are currently relying on an algorithm to tailor content to visitors depending on their history and preferences. Although this personalization increases the level of engagement, it also creates ethical concerns regarding the concept of an echo chamber and biased flow of information.  Readers can fail to get diverse views, which is the foundation of good journalism, when they only get stories that make them believe in their convictions. News organizations have to therefore strike a balance between personalization and exposure to different viewpoints. ad-tag_iframe-sync_master Moral Problems and the Human Factor. Implementation of AI in journalism is associated with ethical concerns. Who will be responsible in case an AI generated story is erroneous or biased? Are AI to be given a byline on work it assists in? These questions demonstrate that there is a need to have explicit editorial policies and disclosures of the use of AI tools. Although the technology has changed, the basic things about journalism, truth, context and humanity, do not change. Artificial intelligence can assist in the creation of the story, yet only people can provide it with a sense, empathy, and feeling. It is impossible to recreate the instinct of a reporter with a sense of an undercurrent of truth or the feeling of compassion that leads to a human-interest story with an algorithm. The Future: It is Time to Work Together, Not Compete. The future of journalism is not the fight between machines and humans, but a combination. AI is going to keep on advancing and it will become an even more advanced tool in newsrooms. When journalists are taught to collaborate with AI, they will probably come up with more content that is rich, faster and more reliable. In the following years, we could witness AI creating real-time updates of breaking news and helping with live translations of global audiences, as well as, analyzing the public opinion on key matters. Nonetheless, humans will be the storytellers as the news will have its final goal to inform, enlighten, and empower society. AI has already started to transform journalism providing alternative means of gathering, analyzing, and sharing information. It increases productivity, combats misinformation and makes the news experience personalized. Nonetheless, it is also accompanied by the issues of ethics, prejudice, and genuineness. It is all about equilibrium- adding the merits of AI and keeping the unsubstitutable human aspects of journalism. As the technology and the truth keep becoming more and more connected to each other, the next generation of the reporters is not only going to utilize AI, it will need to influence it.