Where is journalism going when AI gets better at creating content?

The main speaker of the seminar is Prof. Nguyen Duc An, Full Professor, Director of the Research Center for Communication of Science, Health and Data, Bournemouth University, UK.

Journalism and AI: Behind the Fuss

According to Professor Nguyen Duc An, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is gradually asserting its important role in the journalism industry. Many major news agencies in the world have deeply applied artificial intelligence to the news production process. The Associated Press reported that the use of AI has helped journalists save up to 20% of their time, freeing them from detailed tasks such as reporting on financial reports, while also improving accuracy. Bloomberg shared that one-third of all their articles are published by a robot called Cyborg.

Automating the process of creating stories from dynamic data sources not only saves journalists time, but also opens up the production of stories for small, niche markets. AI is able to analyze complex data sources, thereby helping journalists to exploit information that they could not dig deep enough for themselves. Furthermore, AI is also playing a key role in detecting and preventing fake news, with the support of organizations such as Full Fact, BBC Verify and Snopes.

Panel discussion "Who is a journalist? Where is journalism going when AI is getting better at creating content?".

However, Professor Nguyen Duc An emphasized that behind the "excitement" that the whole society is giving to AI, this technology still cannot completely replace the role of humans in the journalism industry.

Professor Nguyen Duc An pointed out that the current press coverage of AI is also "problematic". "We only exaggerate, create a fever and focus on the benefits, forgetting its negative side. This creates a negative effect on how society receives technology," Professor An commented.

Professor Nguyen Duc An believes that the way the press reports on AI today is exaggerating, creating a fever and only focusing on the benefits, forgetting the negative side of this technology.

The professor referred to the Moravec Paradox, which states that conscious tasks such as high-level reasoning, playing chess, or picking stocks are relatively easy to program. Conversely, unconscious tasks such as walking, running, seeing, and recognizing objects are very difficult to program. This suggests that while AI can process big data at breakneck speeds, it still lacks the contextual thinking and emotional intelligence needed to tell a story with sophistication.

Professor Nguyen Duc An pointed out that AI cannot be present at the scene of an accident, in a courtroom, or in a board meeting. It cannot feel the pain of a family or look into someone’s eyes to know the truth. All AI does is “free” reporters to do more of that work.

While AI offers many benefits, it also poses risks. AI can reinforce existing social biases, cause hallucinations, and provide false information. Therefore, the use of AI in journalism must be approached with caution.

The professor recommends that journalists approach this technology with an open mind but also with responsibility. To make effective use of AI, journalists need to be properly trained in this technology, while maintaining professional ethics and responsibility to the community. It is not advisable to “sanctify” AI; instead, there needs to be human oversight and transparency with users.

Journalists need to see AI as a tool

At the discussion session of the panel, the extremes of artificial intelligence continued to be discussed and explained by the speakers.

The discussion session of the Forum had 4 speakers (from right to left): Dr. Phan Van Kien, Director of the Institute of Journalism and Communication Training (IJT); Dr. Nguyen Quang Dong - Director of the Institute for Policy Research and Communication Development; Prof. Nguyen Duc An and Journalist Le Tho Binh, Vice President of the Digital Media Association.

Dr. Nguyen Quang Dong shared: "Vietnamese press now lacks two things. First is the lack of data about readers, we do not know who our readers are. Second is understanding our readers."

The Director of the Institute for Policy Research and Media Development further analyzed: “Last year, we conducted a survey of 170 newsrooms in Vietnam to learn about technologies that serve to understand readers. The results showed that about 85% of newsroom leaders have started using technology such as Google Analytics to capture information about their readers. However, only about 34% of the reporting team uses this technology.”

This gap reflects a large gap in technology adoption across levels of the newsroom, suggesting that while leadership recognizes the importance of technology, its implementation and practical application remain challenging.

According to Professor Nguyen Duc An, the "difficulties of the press economy" of the world press as well as the Vietnamese press today are readers. We are losing readers, not because of technology. Technology only aggravates this aspect.

The crisis in the relationship between humans and AI was also a hot topic at the conference. According to Dr. Phan Van Kien, many people insist that AI must replace humans or vice versa, but reality shows that both can exist in parallel.

“The human element in us is something that AI cannot replace,” said Dr. Phan Van Kien. He emphasized that emotions, creativity and the ability to deeply understand society are aspects that AI has yet to achieve.

The Director of the Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication added: "Journalists must find another job that AI cannot replace them, otherwise if we just stand still, we will certainly be replaced."

Dr. Phan Van Kien shared that journalists will be replaced if they just stand still.

Many questions were also answered at the seminar, creating an opportunity for everyone to better understand the relationship between humans and technology in the journalism industry. The speakers all agreed that AI cannot replace humans in important aspects such as emotions, creativity and the ability to deeply understand society. Instead, AI should be considered a supporting tool, helping journalists improve work efficiency and content quality.
 

Experts and speakers took souvenir photos with lecturers and students of the Institute of Journalism and Communication.

>>>>>>> Press reports on the event:

-Journalists and Public Opinion Newspaper
-VietTimes Magazine
-Applied Electronics Magazine
-Businessmen's Page, Vietnam Law Newspaper