AI can write texts, but can't write journalism? A thorough explanation of the difference!
Hello, I'm John, a blog writer who explains AI technology in an easy-to-understand way!
Recently, we often hear news about "AI has written an article" or "AI has written a novel."Generative AIThe evolution of the internet is truly amazing. Some people may be worried that this will mean that jobs for people like journalists and writers will disappear.
But wait a moment. In fact, there is a huge wall between "content" created by AI and "journalism" done by humans. In this article, I would like to explain in detail, so that everyone can understand, what the difference between these two is and how AI and journalism should interact in the future.
What kind of "content" is AI good at?
First, let's look at content creation, which is something AI is very good at.
The "content" referred to here isCreating new sentences or lists based on information already available in the worldIt's like having a really good assistant who is given a bunch of documents and asked to "summarize them and put them together in a report."
Specifically, AI is good at the following tasks:
- Write a short summary of a long meeting or a complex research paper.
- Create a list article such as "Top 10 recommended cafes in Tokyo."
- Rewrite a company's press release (announcement) in different words.
All of these tasks require processing and reorganization of original information. AI can perform these types of tasks faster and more accurately than humans because it has learned from vast amounts of data. However, the important thing is thatIt can only be created from what already existsThat is to say, you don't discover something from scratch.
On the other hand, what is "journalism" carried out by humans?
So what about "journalism"? Journalism is not just about creating articles. It is a series of actions to reveal the truth.The process itselfRefers to.
This process is filled with many important human elements that AI can never imitate.
Unique perspective and reporting
The starting point of journalism is to ask questions like "What is going on here?" and to discover facts that no one knows yet. To find the answer, we actually go to the scene and talk to the people involved directly (interview). AI cannot walk on its own and interview someone.Original information gatheringThat is the core of journalism.
Corroboration and fact-checking
Journalists thoroughly check whether the information they collect is actually correct. They compare multiple sources of information and look for evidence to improve the accuracy of the information. On the other hand, AI has"Hallucination" (a phenomenon in which AI casually generates plausible false information)There is a weakness in that. AI does not understand "what is a fact", but simply predicts "what is likely to come next", so there is a risk that it will write incorrect information as if it were a fact.
Ethics and Responsibility
Journalism has a code of ethics that must be followed. And above all, the articles we write must beThe person who wrote it and the media organization to which they belong are responsible.If there is a mistake, we will correct it and apologize. This "locus of responsibility" is very important. So, who will take responsibility if there is a mistake in an article written by AI? AI itself cannot take responsibility. This "accountability" and "sense of ethics" are things that only humans can have.
Deep insights and analysis
Good journalism is not just about listing facts. It is about asking questions such as, "What does this event mean for our society?" and "Why did this happen?"It provides readers with deep insight into the context and essence behind things.This requires social experience, empathy, and critical thinking skills, which are difficult for current AI to master.
AI is a "partner" rather than an "enemy" for journalists
So far, you might be thinking, "Is AI useless for journalism?" But that's not the case. AI is not an "enemy" that takes away the jobs of journalists, but it helps them do their jobs."A powerful companion (assistant)"It can be.
For example, you can use it like this:
- Automatically transcribe hours of interview audio.
- The AI will be used to load huge amounts of official documents and data and find specific patterns or abnormal numbers.
- Get some article title ideas for inspiration.
In this way, by entrusting time-consuming and tedious tasks to AI, journalists can focus on more human-like creative work, such as reporting and analysis. It is important for journalists to be on the "user" side of AI.
Summary and my thoughts
What did you think? I hope I was able to convey at least a little of the difference between "content" created by AI and "journalism" created by humans. To summarize briefly,AI is good at processing existing information, but it can't execute the trustworthy and accountable process of journalism.
I myself write about technology, and AI is the best research assistant. However, I make all the final decisions on how to connect the information and in what words I want to deliver it to readers. Technology is merely a tool, and I feel that the most important thing in the end is the "human" aspect of using it, for what purpose and with what sense of responsibility.
This article is based on the following original articles and is summarized from the author's perspective:
AI can create content but not journalism