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Josephine Ma

Since the emergence of ChatGPT, tech companies have been pouring enormous resources into artificial intelligence (AI) tools as they compete for market share.
In just a few months, even average users may have noticed the immense improvements in the quality of the content generated by AI.
The tools now make it easy to create videos and music, while AI articles and commentaries are also becoming more common.
The latter are particularly common in mainland China. For example, a search of social and current affairs topics on the search engine Baidu will easily produce a large number of AI-generated commentaries and articles.
Some people have also started talking about the age of AI intimacy, when people can find companionship from a chatbot.
The world is set to turn upside down because of AI, with many also wondering what kinds of jobs the technology will replace in the future.
Against this backdrop, it is not surprising some people are asking if AI could eventually replace journalists.
The answer is no because credible news media and reports that bother to have a balanced view and spend resources on fact-checking will become more valuable in a world that is increasingly fragmented by social media.
Many people no longer read newspapers and solely rely on social media to feed news articles to their mobile phones. While that is convenient, the downside is that the person will only read articles or information that support their own views and preferences.
It is what people call the echo chamber effect. The algorithms of social media platforms can easily find out a person’s views and preferences and feed them content that user will click on.
The echo chamber means people live in their own realities while another group that holds opposing views will do the same. Both sides attack others on social media but they don’t usually hear what the other side is saying.
That also means that people are increasingly living in their parallel universes.
In old school journalism, balancing different views in an article is a must and this approach allows people to listen to different views.


While some people might question if conventional media outlets are objective and label some as rightist or leftist, there are basic principles many are still holding on to: a news article should be based on facts; there should be clear distinctions between opinions and facts; and all information should be cross-checked with clear attributions.
In a world where information is abundant, the rare commodity is credible information.
That is why traditional news media, despite intense financial pressure, should resist the temptation to let business interests influence their editorial content because credibility is the most important asset in the AI era.
When AI continues to advance, it will be increasingly difficult to identify whether a video is genuine or fake. An example is the memes that became popular after the first meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
In these memes, the two were seen punching each other after the fallout. While these were obviously fake, the time will come when the quality of fake videos is so good that it will be hard for viewers to distinguish between what is genuine and what is not.
When that happens, videos produced by credible media outlets will be an important source for fact checkers.
To ensure there is still credible information in the AI age, journalists should also be equipped to do fact checking.
There are organisations that run programmes to equip journalists to use the most advanced tools to carry out these checks and track the origins of videos, but sadly some have stopped due to a lack of funding.
Schools should also consider incorporating some elements from journalism programmes, such as balanced views and fact-checking, into their syllabus to make sure the next generation will not be trapped in the echo chambers.


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My Take

Why media must try to hold on to its credibility in the age of artificial intelligence

AI-generated content is increasingly common on social media. Photo: Shutterstock  

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As AI gets more powerful, humans and human values must remain in charge

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Opinion

China Opinion

Balance and fact-checking will become increasingly important in an age when computers can generate convincing-looking fakes more easily


Balance and fact-checking will become increasingly important in an age when computers can generate convincing-looking fakes more easily.


Artificial intelligence

ChatGPT and other generative AIs

United States

Ukraine

Donald Trump

Volodymyr Zelensky

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}My Take | Why media must try to hold on to its credibility in the age of artificial intelligence

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Balance and fact-checking will become increasingly important in an age when computers can generate convincing-looking fakes more easily

My Take | Why media must try to hold on to its credibility in the age of artificial intelligence

Balance and fact-checking will become increasingly important in an age when computers can generate convincing-looking fakes more easily