The balance between AI and human journalists in online journalism
Human journalists lost their jobs because of the use of AI in newsrooms.
In recent years, AI technology has increasingly transformed various sectors, including the media industry. With AI's ability to generate human-like voices and engage audiences in real time, some radio stations and news outlets have started experimenting with AI hosts. A recent example of this shift comes from a radio station in Poland on Wednesday. It replaced its team of journalists with an AI host, prompting a heated debate on the role of AI in digital journalism. While AI hosts can offer cost-saving benefits and improve the efficiency of newsrooms, they might pose a threat to the human journalist and the journalism industry.
The latest news about the AI presenters on the newsroom, by KTLA 5
The Feature of AI Tools Used in Newsroom
AI tools are widely used in the process of news production, transmission, and consumption.
Synthesia： AI hosts can continuously broadcast news around the clock and quickly generate and update content, thereby improving the efficiency of news dissemination. Compared to human moderators, they can significantly reduce labor costs and help news organizations survive under economic pressure. Meanwhile, they can simulate human voice and intonation, interact with the audience, and enhance the audience's sense of participation and experience.
BuzzSumo： As a content analytics tool that helps news organizations identify current hot topics and trends so they can adjust their reporting strategies. It also provides competitive analysis and content inspiration to help journalists generate novel stories and optimize content to increase reader engagement. Through social media monitoring and influencer identification, BuzzSumo further enhances the impact of news dissemination.
Wordsmith: The Associated Press (AP) uses Wordsmith by Automated Insights to automatically generate financial news, specifically earnings reports. Since implementing Wordsmith in 2014, AP has dramatically increased its output of financial stories - from a few hundred to thousands per quarter. This automation allows AP reporters to focus on more complex stories, while AI handles data-heavy stories.
The Threat Poses to Human Journalists and the Journalism Industry
Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski said: "Although I am a fan of AI development, some boundaries are increasingly being crossed. AI should be used for people, not against them."
The integration of AI tools in journalism poses a major threat to human journalists and the news industry as a whole. One major problem is the declining employment of journalists. As media organizations increasingly adopt AI-driven solutions to cut costs and streamline operations, many traditional reporting roles are at risk. A 2021 report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism highlighted that 40 percent of journalists fear losing their jobs to AI as automation replaces tasks like news writing and data analysis.
In addition, the use of AI in newsrooms leads to misinformation. The AI-generated content relies on data scraped from the Internet, which may contain unreliable or biased information. A study by the MIT Media Lab found that false information spreads faster than factual news, with algorithms amplifying inflammatory or misleading content. This poses a risk to the integrity of news because AI lacks the critical judgment needed to distinguish reliable sources from unreliable ones.
In addition, reliance on artificial intelligence threatens the originality of news content. Because AI tools often generate articles based on existing data and trends, there is a risk of homogenization of news coverage. The Associated Press's use of AI to generate financial reporting is a prime example, and while this practice is highly efficient, there are concerns that it lacks nuanced reporting and a unique perspective. This trend highlights the uniqueness of human journalists which has individual consciousness.
In the future, with the continuous development of AI tech, the journalism industry will face new challenges and opportunities. While AI indeed improves the efficiency and economic profits of newsrooms, it also forces journalism to rethink its role and values. Finding a new model for human journalists to collaborate with AI tools will be a key direction for future development. Only by balancing efficiency with originality, speed and authenticity can the newsroom continue to provide valuable information to the public.