Global media leaders highlighted the opportunities and challenges faced by news media outlets worldwide in the era of artificial intelligence (AI) after a report on AI was released on Monday by a think tank affiliated with Xinhua, China's national news agency.
With the title "Responsibility and Mission of News Media in AI Era," the report, based on interviews with global media, tech organizations and multi-language questionnaires, was released during the ongoing sixth World Media Summit in Urumqi, the capital city of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
"This is a very important document," said Waref Kumayha, president of the Silk Road Institute for Studies and Research in Lebanon, noting that the world has entered a new era as a result of generative AI technology, which has brought great changes to many industries, including news media.
According to the report, the majority, 66 percent, of the news media surveyed worldwide view the impact of generative AI on the industry positively. Additionally, 51.2 percent of the respondents had already started implementing AI technologies.
"AI provides the media industry with the ability to be more efficient by doing the heavy lifting, freeing up time for our journalists and creatives to express strategy and present their content and storytelling effectively," said Viasen Soobramoney, chairman of the editorial board of Independent Media in South Africa.
AI is empowering creative innovations in smartphones, enhancing the personalization of television and revolutionizing broadcast, said Gao Jack Qunyao, chairman of Whale TV in Singapore.
Speaking at the summit, Andrey Kondrashov, director general of Russia's TASS news agency, said that AI is profoundly transforming the media industry. "It is essential for media practitioners to come together and seize this opportunity to utilize this technology correctly, to collectively enhance human well-being."
However, the news media surveyed also expressed apprehensions about the potential credibility risks associated with AI with a significant majority, 85.6 percent, of the surveyed media believing that the application of generative AI required better regulation.
"It's important for us to understand how artificial intelligence is being applied, particularly as these new technologies often contribute to this misinformation and hate speech that impact the lives of millions of people around the planet," said Pierre Krahenbuhl, director-general of International Committee of the Red Cross.
The spread of disinformation and "deepfakes" is a major issue that requires collective efforts to resolve. Interaction, rather than division, within the global professional community should be our primary mission, said Dmitrii Gornostaev, deputy editor-in-chief of Russia's Rossiya Segodnya Media Group.
The report stressed that widespread value disputes and ethical dilemmas have put AI in a dilemma between development and governance, therefore news media should shoulder their social responsibilities, commit to a "people-first" approach and promote "intelligence for good" in the era of AI.
Tamas Kovacs, CEO of Hungary's ATV Media Group, said disseminating truth remains the core of news reporting and the responsibility that news media should shoulder in the digital era, amidst the rapid development of new technologies.
"We still bear the primary responsibility of creating high-quality content that is truthful, trustworthy, and meaningful," said Kondrashov. "It is crucial that we uphold professional standards, engage in objective and rational thinking, and apply the Chinese wisdom of seeking common ground while respecting differences."
