Generative AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and DALEE-2, have the potential to automate certain aspects of news reporting, which raises serious questions about job security in various fields, including journalism.
Since the journalism field counts among those that are constantly evolving, the advancement of A.I tools is likely to have an impact on how journalists carry out their duties going forward.
We caught up with a Senior Lecturer at Cape Peninsula University of Technology's (CPUT) Media Department, Dr Trust Matsilel to explore the implications of generative AI tools on the journalism landscape and discuss how journalists can adapt to this evolving technological landscape.
The Rise of Generative AI Tools
Generative AI tools, such as language models and natural language processing algorithms, have made significant strides in understanding and generating human-like text in addition to various other tasks such as writing computer code.
However, Dr Matsilele points out that while these tools can analyse vast amounts of data, extract key insights, and even generate news articles, their impact in the short term is largely overstated.
“There are certainly some aspects of journalism that are going to be enhanced by artificial intelligence, especially people who analyse large data sets. So people who are likely to benefit from AI include those who mostly handle mundane tasks that are often considered routine.”
He further states that these tools are not yet capable of independent reporting or critical analysis, they can only automate repetitive tasks such as data analysis, and content curation.
Furthermore, although generative AI tools offer several potential benefits to journalists and news organisations' commercial adoption also means that they would have to be trained to accommodate the in-house writing style of African newsrooms.
According to Dr Matsilele, the organisations that are likely to reap the benefits of these tools are those that publish data-driven stories, such as those with a prime focus on financial reporting as well as sports.
This advantage enables them to process and analyse data at an unprecedented scale, allowing journalists to uncover patterns, trends, and insights that might have otherwise been overlooked.
This can enhance the efficiency and accuracy of news reporting. Additionally, these tools can assist journalists in generating routine news articles quickly, enabling them to focus on more in-depth investigations and interviews.
Challenges and Job Security Concerns
Despite the above-mentioned advantages, generative AI tools raise valid concerns about job security. The automation of certain tasks may lead to a decrease in demand for journalists who traditionally perform those tasks.
Newsrooms might choose to invest in AI systems rather than hiring additional human journalists, particularly for routine reporting or content curation. This could result in downsizing or restructuring within news organisations, potentially affecting the overall job market for journalists.
These are surface-level concerns according to Dr Matsilele who explains that most newsrooms that are likely to take this route are those that have vast financial resources. These would include media companies such as Code4Africa, Media24 and Daily Maverick.
“Most of these applications are not free, maybe at an open-source level, but they still require financial investment and most newsrooms are struggling and operate on skeletal staff, especially since large corporations like Google and Facebook amass 90% of advertising revenue.”
It is also worth noting that, in terms of news consumption, internet access in South Africa is mostly limited to those who can afford to pay for it, as the majority of the country's population consumes media through radio and television.
Dr Matsilele also recently concluded a study on the adoption of AI technology in African newsrooms in three countries, namely South Africa, Lesotho and Zimbabwe.
Based on the responses they received, he concludes that A.I adoption in the continent’s newsrooms, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa, is at a very elementary level.
