How will AI change news and journalism over the next year?

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Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, have the potential to significantly change the way news and journalism are produced, distributed, and consumed. Over the next year, we can expect to see more and more news companies adopt these technologies in order to stay competitive in an increasingly fast-paced and digital landscape.

Automation

One of the key ways that AI tools will change news and journalism is through automation. With the help of natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) algorithms, AI systems can be trained to write news articles, summaries, and even entire stories with little to no human involvement. This will enable new companies to produce more content in less time, and at a lower cost, which will allow them to expand their coverage and reach more readers.

Personalization

Another way that AI tools will change news and journalism is through personalization. By analyzing data about readers’ interests, preferences, and behavior, AI systems can tailor news content to individual readers, making it more relevant and engaging. This will also enable news companies to target advertising more effectively, resulting in higher revenue.

Accuracy

AI tools will also enable news companies to improve the accuracy and credibility of their content. With the help of NLP and ML algorithms, AI systems can fact-check and verify news stories. Additionally, AI tools can be used to detect plagiarism and identify potential biases in news stories, helping to maintain the integrity of the news.

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Verification and Bias

However, with these opportunities, also comes challenges that news companies will have to navigate. One of the biggest challenges will be ensuring the accuracy and credibility of AI-generated content. While AI systems can be trained to identify plagiarism and inaccuracies, they are not infallible and can make mistakes. News companies will need to have systems in place to verify and fact-check AI-generated content before it is published.

Another challenge will be ensuring that AI-generated content is not biased. AI systems are only as unbiased as the data they are trained on, and if the data is biased, the AI system will be as well. News companies will need to be vigilant in monitoring the data they use to train their AI systems and ensure that it is as diverse and representative as possible.

Training and “Garbage In-Garbage Out”

The training of AI tools such as ChatGPT is important because it determines the quality and accuracy of the output that the system produces. The training process involves feeding the system with large amounts of data, known as a training dataset, which the system uses to learn and make predictions. The quality of the training dataset directly influences the quality of the output produced by the system.

The concept of “garbage in, garbage out” (GIGO) is closely related to the training of AI systems. It refers to the idea that if the input data (the “garbage in”) is of poor quality, the output (the “garbage out”) will also be of poor quality. In other words, if the training dataset is inaccurate or biased, the system will produce inaccurate or biased predictions. Therefore, it is crucial that the training dataset is of high quality and represents a diverse and representative sample of the data that the system will encounter in real-world use.

Additionally, the concept of GIGO also applies to the evaluation of the AI system. If the system is evaluated on a dataset that is not representative of the real-world data it will encounter, it may perform poorly in the real world.

To ensure that the AI system performs well in the real world, a diverse set of data should be used during the training, validation, and testing phases. Furthermore, the system should be continuously monitored and re-trained as needed when new data becomes available to keep the model updated and avoid bias.

AI tools, such as ChatGPT, have the potential to revolutionize the news and journalism industry over the next year. They will enable news companies to produce more content in less time and at a lower cost, personalize content for individual readers and target advertising more effectively, and improve the accuracy and credibility of their content.

However, news companies will need to navigate several challenges to ensure the accuracy and credibility of AI-generated content, avoid bias and address the potential impact of AI on jobs in the industry. News companies that can effectively navigate these challenges will be well-positioned to succeed in the new world of AI-assisted news and journalism.

Curt Mercadante is CEO of Advantage Informatics, an innovative publishing company that provides news organizations, publications, and other businesses with reliable, timely, affordable content. Follow Curt on LinkedIn.