I’ve been told more times than I can count how my major is becoming redundant with the invention of artificial intelligence.
An established journalist and CEO spoke to my class and answered questions about the journalism industry. Students asked about what the industry is looking for and how to capture people’s attention. I asked about the job market and how AI is affecting entry-level jobs. I was told that AI is offloading jobs and anyone who is telling us otherwise is lying.
Choosing to be a public relations major was easy. As someone who grew up during the social media renaissance, I was attuned to how quickly things can change and understood how to cultivate a digital presence. Now, entry-level jobs are being replaced by AI, and I have to rely on the people it does not affect to cultivate change.
AI expedites the process of bringing news to the consumer; it can produce video content in seconds, it can analyze large amounts of data and summarize it into an easy-to-understand paragraph. It is the perfect tool for journalism, just not for people looking to start a career in journalism.
Boriana Treadwell, senior lecturer at the University of Miami School of Communication, said that “before AI came to our rescue, journalists spent an inordinate amount of time on tasks that were menial. Now AI can carry out these tasks, freeing us to do more important work, like on-the-ground reporting.”
It is unclear what tasks Treadwell is referring to as “menial,” but she does call on-the-ground reporting “important.”
In journalism, we are taught to write using unbiased language and speak in a uniform voice. The comparison can be made that for hundreds of years, we have been taught to write like robots. The CEOs and higher-ups in the industry see AI as an efficient tool, but they are not the ones affected by its implementation. AI is able to do the jobs of journalists and PR professionals, and we’ve already seen it being used by major media groups.
This past month, McClatchy Media laid off 30% of its workers across its 17 publications in favor of AI. Successful journalists who dedicated their craft to the company were seen as expendable.
When the generation entering the workforce is looking at one of the worst job markets, they don’t want to be told that many new jobs will be going to a machine. If established journalists — who have already built a loyal audience and formed connections — can lose their jobs, does the newer generation have a chance?
The Associated Press also uses generative AI in their business model, employing it to analyze large amounts of data, support video production and create headlines. AP says they use AI to “carefully deploy artificial intelligence in areas where we can be more efficient and effective,” and assures that everything AI produces is checked over by a human. I do not want to play second fiddle to an AI when I know I can do a better job.
There is a craft to journalism. Any job that requires time and patience is not a corner that needs to be cut. I enjoy editing. I enjoy looking at a lot of information and using my discretion to summarize it. No task is menial. If we let AI do all the work, years of craft are fed into AI and out like a shredder.
Time is money and while journalism strives to be unbiased, it’s never perfect. Bias in journalism is better dealt with when you know the source and the author writing the article. But if an AI model is being trained to copy write and pull from other sources, it’s hard to pinpoint a bias.
The need for AI to generate stories comes from our insatiable desire to consume media. We are becoming dependent on a system that is for humans but not by humans. It is up to the professionals to make the radical decision to reject AI, even if it is not the lucrative decision.
Owen Cosgrove can be reached at [email protected].