NewsARound: The Future of Journalism in the year 2073
“The institutions of media and journalism have been plagued by a lack of media literacy and diversity within the newsroom and among news reporters, determining which story gets told, when and by whom.”
Ann Licharew, Antoine Chbeir, Emma Long, Keziah George, Manuelrrubio, Martyna Ivanauskaite, Mary Grace Purser, Naomi Levine, Sarah Brager, Shreya Kaul, WU Shuting
Introduction
The institutions of media and journalism have been plagued by a lack of media literacy and diversity within the newsroom and among news reporters, determining which story gets told, when and by whom. Developments within the realm of journalism and news would inevitably be influenced by Artificial Intelligence-related interventions. In lieu of which, media consumption will increasingly take place within digital and virtual environments.
Our initiative “NewsARound: Achieving Humanity in Global Journalism” calls for a humane and diverse news environment, inviting technology — not with fear, but with the ability to be equitable and inclusive. To achieve this goal, we aim to standardise media literacy and education — allowing individuals to code for more ethical and humane AI. Furthermore, we anticipate significant changes in the demands of our news audience[s]. News consumers will be more inclined to focus on news that represents their own life experience[s] as media coverage has been unfairly asymmetrical for the past five decades. Reimagining the press institution through the usage of mobile AR technology would enable the achievement of more equitable and inclusive future[s].
What’s our Problem Statement?
The press institution 50 years ago [2023] lacked diversity and representation in three main aspects: newsroom staff had inadequate diversity of gender identities, ethnic identities, sexual identities and socioeconomic backgrounds. Additionally, the news failed to include the experiences and voices of different groups around the world — making it exclusive geo-spatially. Lastly, the expected integration of artificial intelligence in journalism practices raised concerns about AI’s potential to heighten biases and stereotypes within news. In combination, these three challenges led to intentional and subconscious disengagement with news and broken trust between news consumers and news producers. Ultimately, this erosion of values within the press institution was on track to create a less informed and engaged civil society.
A peak into Journalism in 2073
“AI also automatically monitors for outliers in data — political, environmental, economic, etc. — and then notifies reporters for further investigation.”
NewsARound imagines news to be delivered through a combination of wearable augmented reality (AR) technology and mobile holographic screens that cast an interactive news page. Biotechnology — such as a microchip — has replaced mobile phones and computers. Therefore, mobile news as well as cable networks have been tuned out of our utility and imagination. A future where human reporters work with AI tools for efficient and widespread journalistic production is now possible.
Over the decades, AI tools have specialised in specific subjects and can be further trained to fill different roles within a newsroom — such as copyediting, data collection, and writing breaking news notifications. AI also automatically monitors for outliers in data — political, environmental, economic, etc. — and then notifies reporters for further investigation. However, AI will not entirely “take over,” and human journalists will also oversee the analysis. In order to ensure journalism is equitable and inclusive, our future includes AI programmers who come from diverse backgrounds and are required to obtain a robust media literacy and algorithmic literacy education.
How did we reach here?
Transformation Over 50 Years
Due to technological advancements, print and television as media platforms have become redundant. Our initiative ensures that the field of journalism remains equitable by harnessing AI’s power and making it more equipped to deal with the complexities of human society.
Our Specific Interventions
Education
- Inclusive and equitable Media Literacy courses will be as fundamental and compulsory as Mathematics and the Science(s) — Algorithmic Literacy lessons, combined with lessons on Media Literacy, are equipped with teaching students how to code more ethically. This will create a wider database of information, which corresponds to the geo-spatially representative media coverage detailing a concerned area’s demographic information, topographic sensitivities, cultural context and predisposition to conflict, while keeping in mind the historicity of the area’s events.
Technology
- Through widespread AR devices, news has not just become more accessible but also geo-spatially representative. We have mobile AR users receiving a curated set of news from around the world, while also having the choice of selecting any region of the world and tracking its happenings with the help of installed VR devices at every alternate coordinate in the world. This enables audiences to experience news events around the world, while being partially physically present. Additionally, NewsARound devices recommend content of different perspectives to users to avoid the “echo-chamber” phenomenon and confirmation bias.
Environment
- AI sensors will be implemented by 2073 to help track water, air, and soil to check for quality and changes in chemical composition. Data on the quality of the water, air, rainfall and soil microbes are continually tracked to check for variations. These trends are made public information and can be used in studies and daily weather reports. Journalists will have readily available information so more reporting can be done on the natural environment in the event of future climate catastrophes.
An Equitable Distribution Model for NewsARound: Ensuring Accessibility and Affordability
NewsARound devices can be accessed in NewsARound establishments world-wide and are offered at a pay-what-you-can price to promote equity. Additionally, NewsARound devices are offered in multiple formats to accommodate for different disabilities, such as visual impairment. News consumers have the option to listen to high-quality and immersive audio content if visual consumption is not an option. NewsARound also has teams that are responsible for traveling to more remote communities and familiarizing them with the technology.
Conclusion
We are approaching diversity and representation as a tool for re-engaging citizens with news with the goal of making journalism more inclusive and equitable in the future. By reimagining methods for consuming news and the press institution itself, we can make news globally accessible, efficient and tailored to the diverse identities of people around the world. Additionally, by reimagining the future of AI, we believe it can be a resource that helps journalists connect with historically underrepresented communities. An ideal journalistic future is one with a media literate and inclusive society.
