By Kristen Hodge
@redlineproject
Artificial Intelligence has transformed our daily lives as this technology has been implemented into many tasks on technological devices. Most people are not aware of how prevalent AI technology has become in our daily lives and in the media that is produced and consumed.
Professor David Halsted, who teaches a UIC class on the history of AI, highlighted both positive and negative impacts AI poses. Like the impact of social media, AI is changing the media environment. To reduce the possibility of misuse, Halsted underscored the importance of having thoughtful conversations about the use of AI.
“The media landscape has been permanently and utterly altered by AI already,” he said. “Either the reporter is using AI to write fake stories or fake stories are creeping out on the internet; the whole approach to how we do media is through machine learning.”
AI is quickly changing how information is produced, spread, and consumed by the media. Using AI in journalism to refine stories is becoming more prevalent in the stories that exist, particularly online.
According to Crunchbase, AI tools use artificial technology to carry out tasks such as data analysis, generate insights, and automate tasks. Applications such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, and Jasper are among the top applications that utilize AI technology that help consumers carry out tasks efficiently. These AI tools are the most used and known by the everyday person. However, journalism is changing due to artificial intelligence, which is bringing new tools and processes to increase productivity, accuracy, and narrative quality.
By saving time on time-consuming and traditional tasks, these AI technologies enable journalists to concentrate on in-depth reporting. AI technology tools potentially pose a threat and ethical concern to traditional writing and reporting but are becoming more common in producing better-quality content.
Augmented reality: Open this AR project in Adobe Aero or scan the code below to learn more about AI
According to The Associated Press, “Despite some concerns about handing off human work to machines, there is nevertheless strong support among local newsrooms for automating tasks that could free journalists for deeper reporting, streamline production, or enhance content monetization.”
AI technology is becoming more common in journalism to enhance the quality of writing and news stories. Although AI implementation has ethical concerns compared to traditional reporting, it also offers a variety of opportunities, efficient information processing, and more coverage of intricate topics. With the emergence of AI technology used in journalism, it is important to maintain ethical standards while embracing the features and various ways technology can be used as a tool to foster efficiency.
Carlin Jackson, a student at Arizona State University and an Apple product specialist, provided insight on how AI technology works. While enthusiastic about her position at Apple and her studies, she explains how AI has been used in her work and how it has been implemented in new Apple products.
“AI could be used to enhance fact-checking processes,” she said. “As an Apple employee and student, I use AI tools such as Grammarly and have been able to explore the recent arrival of Apple Intelligence in Apple products.”
Jackson said AI is a quicker way to ensure and verify information in writing and reporting. While completing writing assignments and in her daily life, she uses AI technology as an Apple employee and for her business.
Furthermore, AI technology is being further implemented into journalism through fact-checking. Fact-checking is essential when producing stories, as it is common for misinformation to circulate online.
According to Longshot, “One of the main advantages of using the best AI fact-checkers is their speed and efficiency. AI programs can analyze large volumes of information quickly and accurately, allowing for faster verification of facts. This can be especially useful during breaking news events where information is being shared rapidly.” (Longshot).
Fact-checking through AI technology has become a faster and more efficient method of ensuring factual and updated information is reported and dispersed online. Traditional fact-checking has aspects that AI technology fails to implement, such as understanding the context behind different words, phrases, languages, or tones. Despite AI having some limited abilities in comparison to traditional fact-checking, AI and traditional fact-checking, when implemented together, can produce high-quality and newsworthy content.
How We Did It
Reporters were asked to make storyboards to show how their augmented-reality projects would be built. Below is the storyboard for the AR project above.
