Is "humanness" the key even in the age of AI? What is the best relationship between news and AI?
Hello everyone! Welcome to my blog, where I explain AI technology in an easy-to-understand way for beginners. I'm John.
You hear the word "AI" a lot these days. In particular, the evolution of so-called "generative AI," which can "create" things just like humans can, such as writing sentences, drawing pictures, and composing music, has been remarkable.
Some people may be a little worried, thinking, "Wait, so AI will write news articles too? Will all the articles we read be made by AI?" But don't worry! Today's talk is about how, in this age of AI, "humanness" will become even more important.
What AI can and can't do in the news world
First, let's look at how AI is helping the news world.
- Information collection and organization: AI excels at finding highly relevant information from large amounts of information and summarizing complex data in an easy-to-understand way.
- Article drafting: For example, they are adept at creating first drafts of articles based on standard information, such as breaking financial results or sports results.
- translation: It also helps to quickly translate overseas news into Japanese and deliver it.
- Personalization: AI is also used to recommend articles to you, such as "Here are some other articles you might like" based on your interests.
By using AI to help with these tasks, human reporters can spend more time on in-depth research, original analysis, and writing articles that resonate with readers. In other words, AI is a powerful "assistant" for reporters.
However, there are many things that AI cannot do, or that humans are much better at.
- Unique perspective and in-depth analysis: AI can learn from past data, but human experience and wisdom are still needed to see things from completely new perspectives and dig deep into complex social issues to analyze them.
- An empathetic and human story: Only humans can empathize with people's joys, sorrows, and struggles and weave stories that resonate with readers. The same can be said for sensing the subtleties of people's emotions during interviews and drawing out moving anecdotes.
- Trustworthiness and Ethics: It is the role of humans to verify whether the information created by AI is truly correct and unbiased, and to take responsibility for it. Especially in the news, accuracy and fairness of information are vital.
- Inquiring mind to ask "why?" The inquisitiveness to pursue not just superficial phenomena but also the essence of things, such as "Why did it happen?" and "What will happen next?", is a strength unique to human reporters.
What readers really want: "Difference" and "Connection"
In this age of information overload, readers are looking for value that is unique to this article: unique perspectives and deep insights that can't be found in other media, and content that is full of humanity and lets you see the "face" of the writer.
Think about it. It would be boring if all the news sites you visited contained the same kind of articles, right? We are looking for "Differentiation" that can only be provided by a particular reporter or media outlet.
Another important thing is "human connection." We don't just want to obtain information, but also want to feel the passion and thoughts of the writer through the article and feel a connection with society. No matter how much AI evolves, it will be difficult to replace this "warm hearted connection between people."
That is why it is important for news media to use AI wisely while also making the most of human strengths to deepen trust with readers.
Great teamwork between AI and human reporters
Going forward, it could be said that in news creation, "teamwork" will become important, with AI and human reporters each making use of their respective strengths.
For example, it looks like this.
- AI picks out noteworthy trends and information from large amounts of data.
- Based on that information, human journalists conduct in-depth investigations from their own unique perspective.
- AI supports transcribing interview notes and audio data.
- Human reporters construct stories and write articles that resonate with readers.
- Editors use AI to assist with checking for typos and fact-checking, ensuring final quality.
In this way, AI can be used as a useful tool, allowing humans to focus on more creative, human-like work. This may be the ideal form.
And if you are using AI, being honest about it to your readers (transparency) will be important in building trust. Disclosures such as "Part of this article was created with the help of AI" may become more common in the future.
Summary: Human skills shine in the age of AI
Advances in AI technology have the potential to dramatically change how news is created and delivered. But no matter how advanced the technology becomes, I believe that in the end, it is the insight, empathy, and passionate words that only humans have that move readers' hearts.
Rather than fearing AI, we will use it wisely and pursue what only we, humans, can do. Perhaps this is the future that awaits us.
I am excited about the evolution of AI, but I also feel that in the end, it is the warmth and sharp insight of people that creates articles that resonate with people. AI is a wonderful tool, but it is up to us to decide how to use it.
This article is based on the following original articles and is summarized from the author's perspective:
Where does AI fit in with audience need for differentiation,
human connection?