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AI journalism sparks concern in India

Murali Krishnan, Deutsche Welle

<p>NEW DELHI - An Indian media group unveiled its first full-time artificial intelligence (AI) news anchor this month — a bot named Sana who presents news updates several times a day.</p><p>The AI-powered reporter appears on the India Today Group&#x27;s Aaj Tak news channel.</p><p>&quot;She is bright, gorgeous, ageless, tireless,&quot; said the group&#x27;s vice chairperson, Kalli Purie, at a launch event attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.</p><div><strong>Bot debuts</strong></div><p>Sana has a human-like appearance and is fed with data that it can read using text-to-speech technology.</p><p>Since the introduction last November of humanlike chatbot ChatGPT, AI-generated news presenters have gradually been making their mark.</p><p>In 2018, China&#x27;s Xinhua news agency created the world&#x27;s first AI-powered male news anchor using computer graphics. Just this year, it debuted its first AI female news anchor.</p><p>Last month, Russia&#x27;s Svoye TV introduced Snezhana Tumanova as its first virtual weather presenter.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/03/19/23/how-ai-revolution-is-shaking-up-journalism">How AI &#x27;revolution&#x27; is shaking up journalism</a></li></ul><div><strong>Journalism jobs at risk?</strong></div><p>The world&#x27;s first news channel whose content is generated entirely by artificial intelligence, NewsGPT, was launched in March — ostensibly threatening the jobs of media professionals. Alan Levy, NewsGPT&#x27;s CEO, described it as a game changer in the world of news.</p><p>But as journalism robots proliferate, there is growing concern about their impact.</p><p>&quot;AI will definitely have an abiding influence on journalism in general,&quot; Shailaja Bajpai, a media critic, told DW. &quot;However, it is too early to say how deep it will be and how much of a difference it will make.&quot;</p><p>&quot;The chances are while bots can do news bulletins, they may not be able to react and conduct debates the way individual anchors do today,&quot; Bajpai added.</p><p>With three decades experience of writing about the development of television in India, Bajpai maintained that AI was a big challenge.</p><p>She suggested that explanatory journalism, on-the-ground reporting and investigative journalism could be the answer as AI bots may not be able to replicate human observation and experience.</p><p>&quot;We have to be prepared to change and adapt to withstand this challenge or perish in the attempt,&quot; she said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/04/20/23/ai-leads-to-a-cultural-upheaval">&#x27;AI leads to a cultural upheaval&#x27;</a></li></ul><div><strong>Boon or bane?</strong></div><p>Media columnist and ombudsperson Pamela Philipose said the threat posed by AI and its applications was real and hinted that the &#x27;Alexas&#x27; of the newsroom will perform these tasks more efficiently than a journalist drawing a salary in the near future.</p><p>&quot;The more multi-layered problem is the potential AI has to create disinformation by design,&quot; Philipose told DW.</p><p>&quot;Fake news now passed around through WhatsApp texts and images which lead to stolen elections and the stigmatizing of targeted communities may appear like child&#x27;s play once AI&#x27;s full potential in repurposing raw data is realized.&quot;</p><p>Many media professionals feel a growing dependence on algorithms and automation threatens to undermine the credibility and trustworthiness of journalism.</p><p>Besides, the rise of AI also raises concerns about job security and the potential for AI to perpetuate existing biases in the data it uses to generate news.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="An illustration picture shows the login page of ChatGPT, an interactive AI chatbot model trained and developed by OpenAI, on its website in Beijing, China. Wu Hao, EPA-EFE" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/overseas/03/19/11348860-illustration-picture-shows_epa-efe.jpg"/><figcaption>An illustration picture shows the login page of ChatGPT, an interactive AI chatbot model trained and developed by OpenAI, on its website in Beijing, China. Wu Hao, EPA-EFE</figcaption></figure></div><p>&quot;Of course, there will be apprehensions if an AI-generated presenter is seen as the future,&quot; news anchor Rajdeep Sardesai told DW.</p><p>&quot;But I recall there were apprehensions when the computer first entered the newsroom too that jobs would be slashed.&quot; He thinks technology should be regarded as a tool to help and not as a replacement.</p><p>&quot;We need to use AI and ChatGPT-like apps as aiding a newsroom function not replacing human skill. As for propaganda, does it really need an AI presenter to push it?&quot; asked Sardesai.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/01/25/23/chatgpt-is-changing-education-ai-experts-say-but-how">ChatGPT is changing education, AI experts say — but how?</a></li></ul><div><strong>Shaping the debate</strong></div><p>In recent years, with the rising costs of on-the-ground reporting, prime-time TV news has become dominated by studio debates — where some media houses have become megaphones for the powerful.</p><p>Corporate and political influences have overwhelmed media organizations and many commentators believe that a disturbing trend has emerged where instead of speaking truth to power, media organizations have let those in power decide what the truth should be.</p><p>&quot;AI anchors and applications could trigger a democratic breakdown in ways not imagined at the present moment. I think that should be our greatest worry,&quot; said Philipose.</p><p>Nidhi Razdan, an Indian journalist and television personality, urged caution.</p><p>She pointed out that the introduction of AI news anchors may need to be regulated to avoid journalism going down a slippery slope.</p><p>&quot;Having said that, perhaps AI anchors will do a better job at being objective than their real-life counterparts, most of whom no longer speak truth to power,&quot; said Razdan</p><p>&quot;The way forward is to be aware, cautious about what AI brings to the table,&quot; she added.</p><div><em>Edited by: Keith Walker</em></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9IVPoQ5GgsQ?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Has India entered a new era in news broadcasting with the advent of an artificial intelligence news anchor?

AI journalism sparks concern in India

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AI journalism sparks concern in India

Murali Krishnan,

Deutsche Welle

Published April 22, 2023 10:27 AM PHT

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