Kaplan 1

Jake Kaplan

Samantha Gonsalez

ENC 1102

13 April 2023

Introduction

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the world of journalism,

revolutionizing the way news is reported, analyzed, and disseminated. As news organizations

strive to deliver up-to-the-minute, accurate, and engaging content to their audiences, they

increasingly turn to AI-powered technologies to assist them in various aspects of the news

production process, from gathering and analyzing data to generating personalized content for

individual readers. While AI has the potential to bring unprecedented efficiencies to newsrooms,

it also raises important questions about journalistic ethics, editorial independence, and the role of

technology in shaping public opinion. In this research paper, we will explore the current state of

AI in journalism, its impact on the industry, and the challenges and opportunities it presents for

the future of news.

Literature Review

Many of the resources available online are great tools for someone to learn about AI.

Plenty of articles, books, and studies have mountains of information regarding the benefits and

dangers of AI. Many of the resources I have viewed have gone into extensive detail about how

this technology impacts our lives, for better or for worse, but a specific space that will use this

tool is in the field of journalism.

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Many journalists have feared that their jobs are being taken over by machines. Meredith

Broussard writes, “Scholars and practitioners need to develop a human-centric perspective on AI

for journalism; in both journalism and research about journalism (Broussard 674).” Broussard

argues that the point of journalism and reporting is to find insights into humanity. She states that

AI “will never be sleek and mathematically precise.”She also discusses various ways in which

AI is currently being used in the field of journalism, such as:

1. Automated content creation: AI can be used to generate news articles or reports,

especially in areas such as sports, finance, or weather. This can save journalists time and

effort, allowing them to focus on more complex or investigative stories.

2. Data analysis and visualization: AI can be used to analyze large data sets and extract

meaningful insights, which can be presented to readers in the form of charts, graphs, or

other visualizations.

3. Audience engagement: AI can be used to personalize content for individual readers,

based on their preferences and behavior. This can increase reader engagement and

loyalty.

4. Fact-checking and verification: AI can be used to quickly verify the accuracy of

information or claims made in news stories, reducing the risk of publishing false or

misleading information.

5. Translation and language processing: AI can be used to translate news stories into

multiple languages, making them accessible to a global audience.

Jonathan Stray, writer of “Making Artificial Intelligence Work for Investigative

Journalism” explains that with this new technology, it will be able to “identify a pattern”
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(Hansen et al. 2017), “uncover social problems” (Broussard Citation 2015), “tell the stories

hidden in the data” (Holmes Citation 2016), or otherwise illuminate previously unknown

connections. Stary goes into detail about the algorithms AI uses to help with investigative

journalism. With the rise of AI, a lot of students will be going into a topic they aren't familiar

with. This article gives a good understanding of what AI does and gives insight into the backend

of these machines. Stray gives a good understanding of what this means and simplifies it. This

article will be used to further explain the use of AI in investigative journalism and how

mountains of data can be looked through and analyzed faster than humans could ever

comprehend. Going through so much data so fast is an incredibly beneficial tool to investigative

journalism and young upcoming journalists will have to learn and utilize this technology, it's

important for everyone to be informed on AI as anyone can use it now, and today AI is in the

worst stage it's going to be, it only gets smarter from here on out.

One article provides a basic overview of AI in journalism and describes the different

subcategories in nine segments divided; "Artificial intelligence in journalism: A boon or bane?"

by Santosh Kumar Biswal and Nikhil Kumar Gouda explains the basic concepts of AI and how

they can be applied in the context of journalism. The authors begin by defining AI as "the ability

of a computer program or machine to perform tasks that would normally require human

intelligence to complete." They then go on to explain how AI can be used in journalism, such as

for analyzing large data sets, detecting patterns and trends, the alogims they use, and generating

automated news articles. I found the article to be a helpful introduction to the topic of artificial

intelligence in journalism, covering the basics of what AI is, how it works, and how it can be

applied; it analyzes the more general aspects of AI journalism providing a good foundation to

any student unfamiliar with this topic. It uses a simplistic format, on general points that would
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make it very easy to soak information. This will set a great foundation on the broad topics and

give a good source to rely on when needing a reference to a specific area. Overall, it raises

important questions about how AI can be ethically and responsibly used in journalism and

highlights some potential benefits and challenges.

One article that discusses the business model of AI in journalism is "Impact of artificial

intelligence on journalism: Transformations in the company, products, contents and professional

profile." by Túñez-López, José-Miguel, César Fieiras-Ceide, and Martín Vaz-Álvarez. The

article explores the ways in which AI can be used to create new revenue streams and business

models for news organizations.

The article begins by noting that news organizations are facing a range of challenges in

the digital age, including declining revenues and increased competition from social media

platforms and other sources of information. The author suggests that AI can be used to address

some of these challenges by enabling news organizations to personalize their content, streamline

their workflows, and create new products and services. AI can be used to analyze user data and

provide personalized news recommendations based on individual preferences and interests. This

can create new opportunities for advertising and subscription revenue, as well as for targeted

content and services. The authors explain how Spanish news outlets use this technology and how

it differs from the US. The Spanish news uses AI a lot more and uses less human verification

before they publish. They say that this model of journalism is efficient and can produce truthful

articles and can have much more online credibility than any human. There are no real in-depth

studies that explain the viewpoint of AI experts on journalism and encourage descriptive and

investigative research that deepens in the present and identifies the evolutionary impacts of AI in

journalism; we can’t look at the long-term effects because AI is just so new.

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One article that discusses the use of ChatGPT in journalism is "AIDR: Artificial

intelligence for disaster response." by Muhammad Imran. The article explores the ways in which

AI, such as ChatGPT, are being used by news organizations to engage with their audiences and

provide personalized news experiences. The article goes on to highlight several examples of

news organizations that are using AI-powered chatbots in innovative ways. For example, The

Washington Post has developed a chatbot called Heliograf, which is used to automatically

generate news articles based on data analysis and other inputs. The chatbot has been used to

cover events such as the 2016 Olympic Games and the US presidential election. Many news

outlets, including Sports Illustrated, are using AI to “support content workflows, video creation,

newsletters, sponsored content, and marketing campaigns.” Columbia Journalism Review is a

reliable source as they’ve gotten in-depth on a plethora of different news outlets breaking down

the problems and flaws of the articles and information that these news outlets put out. They are

explaining that AI is being used to better their articles but they don’t clarify if AI has been

slowly doing more work than a human. The article gives a valuable insight into how journalism

is utilizing AI-powered chatbots, like ChatGPT, to connect with readers and deliver custom-

made news experiences. It accentuates the potential of this technology to enable news

organizations to adjust and flourish in the digital era. Additionally, it stresses the significance of

using AI responsibly and ethically in journalism.

In conclusion, AI has become an increasingly important tool in the field of journalism,

providing new ways to automate content creation, analyze data, engage with audiences, fact-

check information, and translate news stories. AI-powered technologies are transforming the way

journalists work and the way news is produced and consumed. While there are concerns about

the potential biases and ethical implications of AI in journalism, its benefits cannot be ignored.
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As the use of AI continues to expand, it is important for journalists to be aware of its capabilities

and limitations, and to use it responsibly in order to ensure that the public can continue to rely on

accurate and trustworthy news reporting.

Methods

For my research, I wanted to use a method that was anonymous, something that was easy

to access, and was quick to encourage people to give their opinions on this topic. I decided to go

with a survey as they fit this description and I received over seventy submissions. This data

collection was hugely beneficial as a researcher as I got the opinions of college students around

my age, the age where AI can be educated the youth to use it effectively. I gathered my survey

results over the course of a week, I sent it out via social media, and there were eleven questions

on the survey, five of them being multiple choice, four of them being a short response, and one

being a scale 1 through 5.

Results and Discussion

Of the seventy-four submissions, the age of respondents I got was on the average of 18 to

24 with forty-five percent of them being in this age range. This is important to my research

because I wanted to get the perspective of college students like myself and younger people’s

opinion as they will be the ones being brought up with this technology and ultimately, they are

the ones who will be using this tool the most right now. The more the youth are educated about

artificial intelligence the greater the value we get and the fewer problems we have.
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My first question was an open response about how they feel about journalism using AI.

Reading through tons of answers the more general consensus was AI can be great for journalism

and all kinds of fields and professions and people would not generally have a problem with it as

long as it is used correctly and effectively. I then asked about people's knowledge of AI

currently. This is where a lot of chin scratchers

came into place. On a scale of one through five I

asked how knowledgeable are you on the topic

of AI. A lot of people do not seem to know a lot

about it; which makes sense as it has been rising

through popularity so quickly. But the next

question is where it really starts to get

interesting. I asked for their definition of AI.

Seems pretty simple on paper, right? A lot of different ways to explain this and a lot of different

answers were what I got. The definition of AI seems like a head-scratching, super in-depth,

evidence board-type question but in reality, AI’s definition is fairly simple: AI is any algorithm

that is acting in an intelligent way, which is probably where the “I” comes from, the most

common type of AI is a type called machine learning, which is where an algorithm gets smarter

when it looks at data or experiences it on its own. People took this question in all different

directions but the more common type of answer involved the word, “Skynet”, referring to the

movie series Terminator, where in those movies it tells a story in the future where AI has taken

over the world.

Some of the more general and basic questions I asked were if you would like to receive

your news in a scroll feed format, i.e. TikTok, YouTube Shorts, etc, and most people said yes,
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over eighty-five percent. This tells me that people want to get access to news but want so in a

quick, short, and easy access way. And AI plays a big role in this because AI controls what you

see and what you are about to see next. Have you ever wondered why you always are shown

videos you like or are on topics you are interested in? TikTok and all these other companies have

made AI-powered programs and algorithms looking at what you like and decide on what you

might like next. If these two ways of getting information were provided to the youth and to

everyone where AI would help create the news and articles and could also be used in an

algorithm where you could be shown quick and short news. It was all used correctly and

efficiently to imagine the information millions upon millions could see and be educated on and

be informed about.

I then dove into something a little more complex. Journalists must carefully consider

several ethical considerations when using AI. Using AI in news reporting can improve efficiency

and accuracy, but there are also risks. I asked about the ethical concerns and while only fourteen

percent of the submissions do not want news outlets to use AI, a majority do. A lot of short

responses about the ethical complications bring up great points. One significant ethical concern

is AI-generated content's potential to spread misinformation or propaganda. The media's

credibility could be severely impacted by AI algorithms that are trained to produce partial,

deceitful, or entirely inaccurate content. AI-generated content must be properly vetted and fact-

checked before publication. Another ethical complication is the potential for AI to reinforce

existing biases or discrimination. AI algorithms are only as unbiased as the data they are trained

on, and if that data is flawed or biased, the resulting algorithms will be as well. This can lead to

AI-generated content that perpetuates stereotypes or discrimination, which can have harmful

consequences for marginalized communities. There are also concerns about job loss as AI-
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generated content becomes more prevalent in journalism. While some tasks may be automated,

such as data analysis or basic news writing, there is still a need for human journalists to provide

context, analysis, and investigative reporting.

Furthermore, the use of AI in journalism raises questions about transparency and

accountability. As AI systems become more sophisticated, it may become more challenging to

understand how they arrive at their conclusions or make decisions. This can make it difficult to

hold news organizations accountable for the content they produce.

Conclusion

The use of AI in journalism has the potential to transform the industry in a number of

ways, from improving efficiency and accuracy to engaging audiences in new and innovative

ways. There are, however, also significant ethical concerns that need to be addressed to ensure

that AI does not undermine public trust in the media. Maintaining journalistic integrity and

preventing the spread of misinformation requires proper vetting, fact-checking, and responsible

use of AI-generated content. Additionally, transparency and accountability are crucial to ensure

news organizations are held liable for their content. As AI technology continues to evolve, it is

important for journalists and news organizations to remain vigilant and responsible in their use of

AI, in order to ensure that it is used to enhance, rather than detract from, the vital role that

journalism plays in society.

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Works Cited

Imran, Muhammad, et al. "AIDR: Artificial intelligence for disaster response." Proceedings of

the 23rd international conference on world wide web. 2014.

Túñez-López, José-Miguel, César Fieiras-Ceide, and Martín Vaz-Álvarez. "Impact of artificial

intelligence on journalism: Transformations in the company, products, contents and professional

profile." Communication & society 34.1 (2021): 177-193.

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Stray, Jonathan. "Making artificial intelligence work for investigative journalism." Digital

Journalism 7.8 (2019): 1076-1097.

Broussard, Meredith, et al. "Artificial intelligence and journalism." Journalism & Mass

Communication Quarterly 96.3 (2019): 673-695.

Biswal, Santosh Kumar, and Nikhil Kumar Gouda. "Artificial intelligence in journalism: A boon

or bane?." Optimization in machine learning and applications (2020): 155-167.