Ah, the rise of AI. It can certainly make things faster, more convenient, and less burdensome. But should we really be using AI to report the news, or to write SEO content specifically to help a commercial client’s website rank higher on Google?
As a longtime reporter/editor and owner of a content writing firm, my answer is a firm, “No.” Of course, I’m biased. It is my livelihood, after all. But with nearly 40 years of experience as a journalist and content producer, I can say with conviction — real journalists and storytellers know fact from fiction, unique from plagiarized, and truth from lies better than AI.
Admittedly, there are times when I miss working as a newspaper reporter and editor. My sole purpose every single day was to somehow “be in the know” by digging up facts, talking to real people, and reporting the news. I met daily deadlines, tried hard to never insert my own opinions, and wrote news and feature articles in a way that was fair, balanced, and accurate.
When I read, watch, or listen to the news today, I find myself constantly wondering where have all the “real journalists” gone? It seems as if all the good ones left the industry amidst the mass newsroom layoffs over the past two decades. Hardly anyone digs into the details anymore (especially on a local level), and too many so-called journalists depend on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites to report “the news.”
Now, some in the media world want to use AI to report the news, as well as create other types of content. Do we not remember all of the instances of “false news” posted on social media sites or fake photos and videos going viral after being shared online? How can you tell what’s real or not these days? It’s really quite mind-boggling.
Some experts say conversational chatbots, such as ChatGPT, may use AI programming to write essays, summarize books, produce financial reports, and more — but it has no way of distinguishing between truth and falsehood. Isn’t that essentially the role journalists are supposed to play, to uncover the truth and present the facts simply and clearly for everyone to understand? It used to be, anyway.
The bottom line? AI is a tool that journalists must explore to make their jobs easier, conduct a full data analysis, and do more impactful work. But I personally would never rely solely on AI to write any type of content without my team of humans double- or triple-checking the facts.
Real journalists ask questions and follow leads. Real storytellers interview real people, then add a creative human touch as they craft the right tone and voice for the subject matter at hand. AI will never be able to do that (at least I hope not!).