{"id":268,"date":"2024-06-02T21:39:55","date_gmt":"2024-06-02T21:39:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/journalism-and-AI\/?p=268"},"modified":"2024-06-21T15:22:03","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T15:22:03","slug":"experts-probe-interface-of-journalism-artificial-intelligence-at-carleton-hosted-roundtable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/journalism-and-AI\/2024\/06\/02\/experts-probe-interface-of-journalism-artificial-intelligence-at-carleton-hosted-roundtable\/","title":{"rendered":"Experts probe interface of journalism, artificial intelligence at Carleton-hosted roundtable"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
An intensive, one-day roundtable convened May 30 in Toronto by Carleton University’s journalism program saw some of the world’s leading experts on the intersection of journalism and artificial intelligence voice a clear message to the news industry and its workforce: while human ingenuity and a professional passion for storytelling and stirring democratic debate will always drive the journalistic enterprise, incorporating AI tools in newsrooms could liberate reporters and editors from mundane, repetitive tasks, lend the immense sorting and computational power of AI to the vital data analysis and investigative functions of journalism, and boost struggling news organizations’ financial fortunes with AI-assisted production, packaging and distribution of content.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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Roundtable chair Prof. Allan Thompson, director of the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University, welcomes attendees to the Journalism & AI event held in the offices of the Globe and Mail in downtown Toronto, May 30, 2024. [Roundtable News Team]<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJournalism and Artificial Intelligence: An Industry Roundtable,\u201d part of an international knowledge exchange and mobilization project initiated by Carleton\u2019s journalism program, was held in conjunction with the May 31-June 2 annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CAJ partnered on the Carleton-led roundtable with the Polis\/London School of Economics JournalismAI Project, journalist Nikita Roy\u2019s \u201cNewsroom Robots\u201d podcast and the Globe and Mail, which provided meeting space for the event at its downtown Toronto headquarters. The roundtable was funded by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An AI-generated illustration via openart.ai in which the image generator was prompted with the words: news, reporter, artificial intelligence, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.<\/strong> [Roundtable News Team]<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur goal is to both establish and engage with a global network of experts, and to examine the nexus between journalism and AI in order to find lessons for journalism practice and education,\u201d said roundtable organizer Prof. Allan Thompson, director of Carleton\u2019s School of Journalism and Communication and head of its journalism program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs our partner the JournalismAI Project has noted, as journalism continues to suffer from the decline of traditional business models, news leaders are increasingly pressured to shift toward data-driven logics,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cMany news organizations are now hopeful investments in AI technology could generate additional revenue and make better use of the time and creative labour of working journalists and editors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Thompson acknowledged that \u201csome journalists fear being replaced by AI, and there are frictions between traditional journalism values and ethics and the values inherent in AI systems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his opening remarks on Thursday, Thompson invited participants to share their views about “the good, the bad and the ugly” as they assess the journalistic landscape in the AI era \u2014 opportunities and optimism as well as concerns and fears about the potential impacts of this powerful technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we all feel it in our bones that we are at a pivot point in the journalism industry,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cThe existential crisis of collapsing business models is now compounded by the challenges and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Newsroom Robots podcaster Nikita Roy, a media entrepreneur, educator and innovator, delivered an opening workshop on May 30 for attendees of the Journalism & AI roundtable hosted by Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication and held in the offices of the Globe and Mail in downtown Toronto. [Roundtable News Team]<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know much yet about the potential impact of AI on the news itself and the health of our public discourse,” Thompson stated ahead of the roundtable. Rather than providing a salvation, we must consider that AI could risk making news organizations even more reliant on technology and the companies that dominate AI development, and irreversibly alter the media ecosystem in negative ways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Many news organizations are now hopeful investments in AI technology could generate additional revenue and make better use of the time and creative labour of working journalists and editors.’<\/p>\n\u2014 Prof. Allan Thompson, roundtable organizer and director of Carleton’s journalism school<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Proceedings Playlist<\/h3>\n\n\n\n