Experts are divided on whether AI will completely replace journalists, but there is general agreement that it can handle more mundane tasks
In Paris, journalists were happy to have the new AI chatbot ChatGPT write their op-eds, and most concluded that the bot wasn't enough to replace their jobs. But many commentators believe that journalism is at a tipping point in its revolution, and mastering the algorithms and AI tools that generate content will be a key battleground.
The tech news site CNET may have foreshadowed the future, quietly deploying an AI program last year to write some of its list articles. But later, another news site noticed that the bot had made some mistakes, some of which were serious, so CNET had to issue several corrections.
But CNET's parent company later announced a series of layoffs, including editorial staff — though executives denied that AI was the cause of the layoffs. Matthias Dopfner, owner of German publishing giant Axel Springer, owner of other publications such as The Politician and German tabloid Bild, told employees last month that "AI has the potential to make independent journalism better than ever, or simply replace it." ”
They call robots like ChatGPT a "revolution" in the industry and have announced a restructuring plan that will see "drastic cuts" in production and proofreaders. Both companies are promoting AI as a tool to support journalists and can point to recent developments in the industry.
Over the past decade, media organizations have increasingly used automation to handle routine tasks, such as searching for patterns in economic data or reporting on company performance. Media agencies with an online presence have long been obsessed with "search engine optimization," which involves using keywords in headlines to gain favor with Google or Facebook algorithms and make stories visible to as many people as possible.
Some agencies have developed their own algorithms to determine which stories are most popular with their audiences and enable them to better target content and ads — tools that have turned Google and Facebook into global giants.
Alex Connock, author of Media Management and Artificial Intelligence, says mastering these AI tools will help determine which media companies will survive and which will fail in the coming years.
The use of content creation tools will cause some people to lose their jobs, but that doesn't include analytical or high-end reporting, he said.
"In the more mechanized field of journalism — things like sports reporting, financial results, etc., I do think AI tools are replacing humans and may increasingly replace human delivery," he said.
Not all analysts agree. Mike Woodridge of the University of Oxford argues that ChatGPT, for example, is more of a "flashy word processor" that journalists shouldn't worry about.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Science Media Center, he said: "This technology will replace journalists in the same way that spreadsheets replace mathematicians, in other words, I don't think that's going to happen." Still, he suggested that mundane tasks could be replaced, which is in line with Connock's view.
French journalists Jean Rogueneta and Maurice de Rambito are delving into whether AI is ready to replace journalists. They released a newsletter called "Qant," written and illustrated using AI tools. Last month, they presented a 250-page report written by AI detailing key trends at the CES Tech Show in Las Vegas. Rognetta said they wanted to "test the robots and push them to their limits." They quickly found their limits.
AI struggled to identify major trends at CES, produced a reporter-worthy summary, and plagiarized a lot of content from Wikipedia. The authors found that they needed constant intervention to keep the process on track, so while these programs helped save some time, they weren't yet suitable to replace real journalists. Journalists are "plagued by mass technology replacement syndrome, but I don't believe that," Rognetta said. "Bots themselves can't produce articles. There is still a part of journalism that cannot be commissioned. ”