Artificial intelligence (AI), algorithms, the overall movement towards digitization, and the rapid advancement of modern technology, have forever changed the majority of the world's industries. One of these industries, the journalism industry, has seen monumental changes due to these developments.
As it currently stands, with the continued development of artificial intelligence and algorithms, many newsrooms worldwide have already started employing the use of these tools in the newsgathering, writing, and publishing processes.
Before we jump into the recent developments of AI and algorithms, it is essential to note the differences between an AI and an algorithm.
An algorithm is a set of instructions that gets executed when it encounters a trigger. Newsrooms can use them to generate articles, based on a preset format, where only the data is necessary to formulate an article.
An AI, on the other hand, is a group of algorithms that can modify its algorithms and create new algorithms in response to learned inputs and data. Hence it is described as ‘intelligent.’ The AI most commonly used by newsrooms would be Generative AI, which is the type of AI that can generate text and images.
Generative AI has been around for decades, arguably since the very first chatbots, such as ELIZA, of the 1960s. However, it is the most recent developments in the world of AI and algorithms that have sparked the world’s interest, and much debate. Today, when one thinks of AI, we almost immediately think of ChatGPT, a text-based generative AI that produces remarkably human-like written pieces. The AI was launched in 2022 and quickly garnered attention for its articulate answers across multiple domains of knowledge.
These recent developments in AI and algorithms have caused an uptick in major media companies making use of generative AI and algorithms in the newsroom, and beyond.
For instance, in November 2018, the Chinese News Agency Xinhua launched the world's first AI news anchors, who will report “tirelessly” 24 hours a day, every day, from all over the country.
In 2014, the Los Angeles Times made a massive impact in breaking news by reporting an earthquake a mere 3 minutes after it occurred. They did this by employing the use of an AI bot named Quakebot, an AI designed by the publication to report on earthquakes as quickly as possible. It does this by reviewing earthquake notices from the U.S. Geological Survey and automatically generates a draft article if it meets specific criteria. Upon review from the editor, the report is published as soon as possible.
In another instance of what has become popularly known as “robot journalism”, in 2015 the Associated Press (in collaboration with CNBC, Yahoo, and others) published a story called “Apple tops Street 1Q forecasts,” a financial story written and published by an algorithm. The company had implemented the system just six months prior and now publishes 3000 similar stories every quarter, all written by an algorithm.
These examples are not the only major news networks making use of this technology, The BBC uses Juicer, which “ingests” news articles and uses AI to put the best ones on users' feeds. The Washington Post uses Heliograf, an award-winning piece of AI-powered technology launched in 2020, which aims to enhance storytelling at a larger scale, focusing on data-driven coverage of major news events.
The use of this technology has sparked much debate, especially within the creative and media fields surrounding the nature of creativity and authorship, as well as the ethics and risks of using AI.
Some have argued that AI-generated art and writing are not truly artistic, as it lacks the intentionality and emotional resonance of organic art and literature. On the flip side, others have argued that AI art and literature have their own value and can be used as a tool to explore new forms of creativity. In terms of writing specifically, many argue that AI-generated text lacks human depth and nuances, others see it as a tool to enhance human creativity.
The main advantage of using generative AI is that it reduces the need and dependence on human involvement in the creative process. Some of the advantages of AI and algorithms include data generation and interpretation, content creation and creative applications, and time efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
In a news context, a notable advantage of generative AI is its ability to make news writing and publishing tasks fast and inexpensive. A practical example of this would be the use of software that intelligently transcribes audio and video recordings into text. Any journalist would be happy to have AI do the time-consuming and often tedious task of transcribing audio for them.
Notable examples of transcription AIs include SpeechText.AI, Sonix, and Otter.ai, all of which can transcribe audio and videos in multiple languages with near human-like accuracy. I have personally used Transkriptor and Descript myself when transcribing interviews for articles.
Another pro of the use of AI in the newsroom is its ability to gather and interpret data at a much more efficient rate. For instance, Logically AI is a recent development in the AI-verse that can be used to do this very task. The AI aims to create a solution to validate the accuracy of online news, by combining the efforts of AI and fact-checking teams to curb the spread of misinformation and fake news on the internet and social media. Without the use of AI, the task of fact-checking is quite time-consuming, as it involves a lot of data analysis.
Despite all the wonders that AI and algorithms have brought to the media industry, it still has its drawbacks. New technology often tends to be disruptive, threatening to make certain occupations obsolete or reduce the earnings of certain professions as organisations choose to be more cost-effective. The use of this technology has also raised concerns about its misuse and abuse. For example, many students have used ChatGPT to get out of writing assignments.
One of the main disadvantages of generative AI is its need for quality control. As this technology is still technically in its developmental stages, it still needs to be given a quality check and edited, by a human, before it can be published. There are many instances of AI generating low-quality outputs in response to prompts.
A prime example is ChatGPT. It is unable to give responses to more current events. It also produces ambiguous and repetitive answers to certain questions.
AI has also been known to have biases, something news organisations should strive to stay away from. According to Princeton science professor Olga Russakovsky, AI bias goes well beyond gender and race. “In addition to data and algorithmic bias (the latter of which can “amplify” the former), AI is developed by humans — and humans are inherently biased,” she says.
“A.I. researchers are primarily people who are male, who come from certain racial demographics, who grew up in high socioeconomic areas, primarily people without disabilities,” Russakovsky says.
Another disadvantage of AI is that the technology tends to be a bit complex. Many people do not know how to make use of it or how to implement it. A smaller news organisation may refuse to implement it in their newsroom as it is still a complex and unfamiliar technology.
There is also the issue of access to this technology. Newsrooms and organisations in less developed areas may not have the funds or technology to implement the use of AI in the newsroom.
For now, the pros vastly outweigh the cons, hence why I do not think that the use of AI will be implemented in South African newsrooms as of now, as we tend to be behind in many technological areas. Many news and media organisations have been forced to close their doors due to economic woes worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic. The cost of living is still extremely high, and implementing an AI or algorithm into South African news might be too costly for many newsrooms.
The issue of unemployment also comes into play. In South Africa, a country with severe unemployment rates, the use of AI might not yet be plausible, as automation tends to cancel out human workers.
However, should South Africa manage to achieve economic stability, lessen its unemployment rate, and solve the energy crisis, I do believe that AI might have a future in local newsrooms, and would be able to make use of all of its advantages mentioned above. Online news publishers might implement an AI such as the Washington Post’s Heliograph to live report on election results or use AI such as Logically AI, to flag misinformation and fake news, which is currently a huge issue.
In conclusion, AI and algorithms have become increasingly important in journalism, transforming various aspects of the field. However, they have not completely replaced the need for human moderation yet, and are simply being used as a tool to bring the news to the masses much quicker and more effectively.
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