CAN ERTUNA "Following the challenging path – which entails investigating unknown subjects, formulating unique and rigorous questions based on prior responses from your interviewee – can often lead to an exclusive story. Laborious and time-consuming tasks, while sometimes taxing, are occasionally the preferred approach in journalism." These remarks are extracted from my notes prepared for an event titled "Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Journalism," jointly organized by the Media and Law Studies Association and the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Istanbul. The panel, moderated by Barış Altıntaş, featured discussions with Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) Academy Director Orhan Şener and Philosophy Professor Catrin Misselhorn. Misselhorn concluded her introductory speech by stating: "While AI holds promise for economic, societal, and cultural transformation, the key ingredient of creativity remains a uniquely human attribute for the time being." This sentiment holds particularly true for journalism, a critical democratic function tasked with enlightening the public and holding power to account. The future of newsrooms, like many sectors, points toward a "hybrid" blend of AI and human involvement, at least in the foreseeable future. Generative AI: Its Potential and Limitations A comprehensive matrix created by Professor Nick Diakopoulos from Northwestern University, based on a conversation with Chat GPT4, highlights the potential integration of "generative artificial intelligence" within modern journalistic practices. More details can be found here. Tasks are categorized into areas such as news discovery, research, interviews, news writing, fact-checking, editing, headline and caption composition, design, legal issues, publishing, promotion, distribution, audience interaction, and analysis of news consumption. Generative AI is proficient in disseminating news and navigating it across social media, analyzing news-related engagement data, SEO optimization, and even restructuring news text into the traditional inverted pyramid format. Promising applications in data journalism, particularly data mining, are also expected. However, professionals working with data are experiencing difficulties in extracting and analyzing data from pdf documents. However, identifying a newsworthy story, pinpointing and persuading relevant sources to interview, drawing out headlines from meticulously prepared interviewees, and interacting effectively with the audience are challenges yet to be surmounted by AI. The technology's shortcomings are particularly evident in countries like Turkey, where ambiguous laws are expansively interpreted, and one can face charges at any moment. In addition, proficiently using AI requires its own wealth of knowledge and experience. To generate fruitful answers, you need to be able to pose detailed questions. This could mean that experienced professionals may be best suited to work in tandem with AI tools. While automation may seem attractive, its implications must be evaluated carefully. For instance, transcribing a lengthy interview – a notoriously labor-intensive task – can offer valuable insights. This immersive process provides opportunities to spot easily overlooked details, prepare for another interview on the same topic, and capture non-verbal cues. Although time-consuming, these efforts often yield richer content. Similarly, tools like ChatGPT can readily provide questions for an interview. But the tough and rewarding task of researching a foreign topic, formulating unique and challenging questions, remains indispensable in creating distinctive interviews. In short, in journalism, labor-intensive processes could sometimes be a preference. Language models, like ChatGPT, are only as good as the data they're trained on. But over time, content produced by AI could potentially become the primary source for further AI-generated content. This could create an echo chamber, or allow digital inequalities and mainstream content to dominate the narrative. AI and Media Economics Even if AI doesn't replace journalists, it is already reshaping newsroom operations. Especially in routine-driven areas such as finance, sports, and international news, it could lead to significant employment disruption. This impact is particularly acute for organizations reliant on routine journalism. Internet media has already drastically cut jobs by rehashing each other's news stories, and now we're seeing news outlets – armed with a small team of journalists and a reliance on social media content or rehashed articles – turning to AI tools to maintain their daily news flow. For now, outlets that delve into reporting about AI seem the most enthusiastic adopters of this technology, employing these tools to supplant routine tasks. However, such technology can be harnessed for quality journalism, enabling skilled journalists to produce more in-depth work in less time. Navigating vast data archives is becoming much more manageable. Therefore, the implementation of technology cannot be divorced from the economic strategies of media outlets. In Turkey, more than 90% of the media operates under government control or scrutiny, capturing substantial chunks of public and private sector resources. AI has begun offering considerable advantages for resource-strapped independent, critical, and opposition journalism. Its primary uses include translation and news writing, and social media content sharing. Tools like Dall.E or Midjourney are being used when copyrighted visuals are inaccessible (Note: I created the visual accompanying this article using Dall.E in minutes). However, it's essential to consider that critical media organizations often exploit their limited resources to justify precarious employment conditions for journalists. Thus, AI might not always be leveraged to enhance journalistic quality. Instead, it could serve as a rationale for layoffs or for adding more responsibilities to staff who were initially relieved of certain tasks. AI and Disinformation Moreover, we frequently observe the government manipulating the menace of disinformation to control and reshape politics and social life. The mechanism of law and public oversight often capitalizes on the threat of disinformation within broad legal frameworks to stifle opposition voices. It's important to recognize that in Turkey, disinformation is largely spread through simple, traditional methods. Reflecting on the manipulated video content from the last election cycle is a prime example. In a media system already in disarray, you don't necessarily need sophisticated technology to influence opinions or manipulate the narrative. The information ecosystem in Turkey is already muddled enough without the need for further interference from foreign "hackers" or trolls. However, this doesn't negate the risk that substantial sections of the population might be exposed to manipulative content that could sever their connection with reality. To fortify positions in the culture war, social media platforms could be inundated with easily and cheaply produced fake content. The most viable antidote seems to be the provision of accurate information and high-quality news to the public. On the day this text was shared, we marked the 52nd anniversary of the New York Times beginning to publish the "Pentagon Papers" leak, revealing that successive US administrations misled the public about the Vietnam War. Despite technological advancements over the last half-century, the basic principles and prerequisites of journalism remain unaltered and seem unlikely to change over the next fifty years, regardless of technological progress. These include freedom of expression and of the press, courage, determination, and knowledge.
