Artificial Intelligence-supported journalism

Image result for ai news    The meteoric rise of the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has had a remarkable influence on various aspects of our lives, and this influence is only expected to rise. AI has already disrupted the field of journalism with the introduction of “Algorithmic journalism” (Dorr,2015). Algorithmic journalism involves a “software that automatically produces texts in natural language from structured data.” Various economic reasons are driving the rise of AI within journalism. First, AI spares journalists the time to draft articles and news pieces that are relatively uniform such as daily news reports about the performance of the stock market. AI’s use in editorial tech helps writers and journalists review their pieces promptly. There’s also an argument that AI may help reduce the biases in certain stories, but given that the algorithms drafting the content may itself include the biases of the person who coded them, this argument still has its flaws. In its bid to enhance its ability to reap the fruits of AI in journalism, Reuters has introduced an AI tool called Lynx Insight (Kobie, 2018). This tool aims to augment journalists and writers rather than replace them by providing them with analytical tools that synthesize big data in a way that nurtures their journalistic role. Lynx Insight will analyze a vast amount of data to identify any interesting patterns or topics that can allow Reuters the opportunity to publish content that is innovative and pioneering, and at the same time fits with the readers’ interests. Lynx Insight aggregates the data and sends the journalist a message with a brief about any interesting patterns with some background about the story or topic. The App associated with the tool provides journalists with a live feed of updates regarding any possible breaking news stories. AI’s growing influence in the field of journalism may have significant implications on the future of news and media. AI may help journalists personalize the news according to the interests of their audience, which may enhance the appeal of the news and its readability. Its ability to reduce the cost may allow new news and media outlets to enter the field which supports the democratization of the field and may provide a competition that can support the quality of the content. Unfortunately, this competition may also lead to the deterioration of the content with news outlets fixated on competition and monetizing content rather than nurturing the field and improving its appeal. Over-dependence on AI tools such as Lynx Insight may reduce the journalist’s sense of agency and innovation ability. This dependence may be destructive to the field of journalism if there are issues with the algorithm, or if the data used by AI has significant flaws. Kobie, N. (2018, March 10). Reuters is taking a big gamble on AI-supported journalism. Retrieved February 12, 2019, from https://www.wired.co.uk/article/reuters-artificial-intelligence-journalism-newsroom-ai-lynx-insight Seth, C. (2016). Mapping the human–machine divide in journalism. The SAGE handbook of digital journalism, 341.