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Lecture on 'AI in Journalism' by Dr. Charlie Beckett
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Sudhanshu Sanwal
4:31
Hello and welcome to this lecture by Dr. Charlie Beckett on 'AI in Journalism'. Professor Beckett is the founding director of Polis, the think-tank for research and debate around international journalism and society in the Department of Media and Communications at London School of Economics.
4:34
Beckett starts the session by saying that India is an exciting place. He urges students to focus on the importance of asking questions.
4:37
Talking about technology, Beckett says: "Technology brings with it capabilities. But it also brings problems. Therefore there is a responsibility to use it." He adds how social media apps today are driven by algorithm and they act like a drug which gets you addicted.
4:38
Giving the example of Stuttgarter Zeitung, Charles talk about new technology which works in automated ways. "AI is becoming part of journalism fabric," he says.
4:40
Beckett adds: "We cant see the AI technology, they are in a black box. Its a bit complicated and we cannot understand it."
4:41
Taking 'new powers and technology' into consideration, Charlie shares his beliefs on AI in Journalism. With many advantages, Charlie also keeps the disastrous affects, mainly result of human greed in mind.
4:43
Beckett asserts: "My idea of AI is a software which can do all sorts of clever things, which is designed by humans, which will be edited by humans. therefore what matters is how you use it,"
Can the emergence of AI affect journalism in a way to boost or misuse its powers?
Yes (33.3% | 3 votes)
 
No (0% | 0 votes)
 
No definite conclusion can be drawn at this moment (66.7% | 6 votes)
 
Total Votes: 9
4:44
Charlie talks about how AI is not stealing jobs and is in fact serving as a helping hand in many cases. He adds: "When you put together a lot of washing machines together. It will do a lot of laundry. In journalistic terms, it will process a lot of information."
4:46
Dr. Beckett further gives the example of internet, social media and AI to explain in detail the three waves that revolutionized the media industry. He elaborates: "The newspapers went online, the broadcasters went online. It as the first wave. The second wave brought social media. This [AI] is kind of like the third wave. What's special about it is it impacts everything."
4:47
4:49
Beckett stresses on how AI impacts all three areas: news gathering, news production and news distribution of journalism, which means it has a significance. It is a part of news process.
4:52
Charlie looks at the bright side of technology saying that new technologies such as Bots help in mapping newsroom biases. Design tools that suggest sources and show previous articles are signs that things are getting easier in the contemporary period. The technology gives a head start to the reader.
"Journalism cannot afford to keep re-writing stuff. You need to have the best stuff," he further adds.
4:53
4:54
Professor Beckett focuses on how organisations are focusing on personalizing news to connect more. He talks about how media organisations are redirecting to evergreen content, automated summaries/tagging and other means to engage people more.
4:57
Beckett ponders over the need to engage people and keep them subscribed as the need of the hour. "Try to make it more fun, more interesting, more engaging. Try to build that relationship with your audience. It will be impossible with just manual human effort," he adds.
5:01
Beckett emphasizes on how media industry must brace up just like every other industry. Believing that a strategic approach is necessary for AI he says, "One of the problem in the news media is that, we do not have an AI strategy- but we do not have a strategy for anything. It is a huge problem in the industry."
5:02
He further adds: "Journalism has to compete to get the skillful people. There is no point in creating these tools unless the journalists know how to use them. In the future these technologies will change the way journalism is created. There will be new job titles."
5:03
5:04
Talking to the aspiring students, Charlie advises the students to understand future trends. He shows his interest in the appetite for collaboration. He believes that Media industry is competitive and independent but things are changing now. "Technology is not everything. Journalism still carries the basic functions," he further adds.
5:06
Further elaborating on his point, Charlie shows an old photo taken in 1986 and also shares other old pictures. Pointing at the typewriter, he believes that technology is changing and should change. But he appeals to keep the values alive.
5:07
Do you think AI will be powerful enough to challenge the basic fundamentals that hold the fabric of journalism?
Yes (20% | 2 votes)
 
No (20% | 2 votes)
 
Depends on the control and censor policies revolving AI (60% | 6 votes)
 
Total Votes: 10
Beckett further elaborates: "Fundamentally you have to be a curious person. You have to be passionate. If it doesn't interest you, it won't interest the audience. If it doesn't interest the audience, find a new job. You need to have a commitment to the mission that is journalism"
5:10
He highlights how it is now easier for this generation. But even then there are certain aspects that one needs to keep in mind. He asserts: "Creativity is very important and that is where the tech comes in. You need to find every possible way to tell a story. Don't let anyone tell you that its not the way to tell a story."
5:11
Beckett focuses on the importance of experimenting with the tools and how it is important to be updated with the changes and trends. He warns: "Just be aware of the trends. Things like AI. It might not be relevant to you today or tomorrow. But it will be in the future. So it is always better to be prepared."
5:13
On being questioned if AI can obliterate the human touch, Charlie replies: "No. Medium means pathway. There is always gonna be something that connects you to the world. Even if its a microchip in your brain."
5:14
5:16
Answering a question about block chain, he shares an anecdote from his Silicon days and how he finds it useless now. He further elaborates: "I couldn't see a single problem that block chain could solve better than anything else. I found it utterly useless and a waste of time. I still do. It doesn't do anything to journalism."
5:18
On being questioned about the Relation between AI and creativity, Charlie answers by saying that it is up to the journalist. "There is a choice. You can do bad Journalism or good journalism," he adds.
5:20
Beckett further adds that journalism is about adding values and about the importance of human to human relation.
5:21
5:25
On being asked about AI battling fake news, Beckett says: "I think its a double edged sword. The reason why we are aware of fake news is because in 2016, a group of people realized you can spread a lot of things online. But some bad people realized it too. Technology can have both good and bad affects. AI can both help and hinder."
5:26
He further gives the example of India and WhatsApp when AI was not sufficient in detecting fake news.
5:27
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