David Wiliamson

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has been adopted by many media outlets in the field of journalism. This has led to the automation of some reporting tasks, such as data analysis, fact-checking, and the summarisation of articles.

While AI can certainly make the production of news faster and more efficient, it also carries certain risks. One of the biggest concerns is that AI-driven news can be biased and inaccurate. AI algorithms are only as good as the data they are using, and if the data is not of a good quality, then it could lead to inaccurate or misleading news. This could have a disastrous effect on public trust in the media.

Another issue with AI is the lack of transparency in how it works. AI systems are generally opaque and inscrutable, which makes it difficult to understand how they are making decisions. This could lead to AI-driven news being published without proper checks, leading to false or misleading stories. Finally, AI could lead to a decrease in the quality of journalism.

AI algorithms are designed to speed up production, but this could come at the expense of accuracy and depth. AI-driven news could be less informative and less insightful than human-generated news, leading to a decline in the quality of journalism.

Overall, while AI can certainly be a useful tool for journalism, it also carries certain risks. It is important for media outlets to be aware of these risks and take steps to ensure that AI-driven news is accurate and trustworthy.

This article was not written by me, nor were the photos drawn by anyone. Instead, it was compiled by Open AI’s Open GPT and DALL-E 2. These are free-to-try widely available tools which between them are able to draw or write almost anything. Within the art community, there is already an ongoing debate about the validity and ethics of AI art. It is likely that this technology will only become more sophisticated. Since learning about this tool a question has been forming that I do not think I have the means to answer, am I already obsolete?

David Williamson is the deputy Comment editor for The Scoop and a third-year PPE student at Queen’s University Belfast.

Will AI make The Scoop obsolete?