Nearly every field of study in the world has been impacted by artificial intelligence (AI) and its effects. What or how AI might affect the field of journalism is still a mystery. However, Sky News has been exploring the potential of AI to see how it might impact journalism in the future.
JournalismAI: Supporting Responsible AI Utilization in Newsrooms
The experiment involving the use of computers to do the news’ research, writing, and editing produced a range of results, from stories about affordable housing that made sense to the absurd claim that spilling milk is good for the environment. However, current technology has reached its limit, but what about the future?
JournalismAI, a project of the London School of Economics run by Professor Charlie Beckett, supports newsrooms in their efforts to responsibly utilize AI. Since it started in 2019, but now that editors and reporters are beginning to understand the power of generative AI, its purpose has never been more obvious.
The Future of Newsrooms and the Role of AI
Professor Beckett predicts a smaller newsroom with AI replacing interviewing, scripting, and online stories. This will create hybrid jobs, requiring hybrid tech and editorial skills. The savings could be used to improve human journalism, allowing reporters to interview more people and produce more imaginative, empathetic, and opinionated stories. AI appears destined to have a similarly significant impact, much like how smartphones and Google search revolutionized journalistic work.
