Three-quarters of news organisations see generative AI as a beneficial tool for journalism, according to survey

November 2023 - Media and PR

Three-quarters of news organisations see genAI as a beneficial tool for journalism: In a recently published global report on AI and its impact on the media industry, it was found that nearly three-quarters (73%) of the surveyed news organisations believe that generative AI (genAI) tools including technologies like ChatGPT or Google Bard, present new opportunities for journalism.

This comprehensive report, titled "Generating Change: A Worldwide Examination of AI's Role in News Organisations," was conducted by the JournalismAI initiative at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). The survey involved more than 100 news organisations spanning 46 countries, exploring their involvement with AI and related technologies. The survey was carried out between April and July of 2023. It follows on from the findings of JournalismAI's 2019 report: New powers, new responsibilities. A global survey of journalism and artificial intelligence.

The most recent findings revealed that the majority of survey respondents (85%) which included journalists, technologists, and managerial staff within news organisations, have used genAI at least at a very basic level to assist in various tasks such as coding, generating images, and crafting summaries.

The research found that around a third of survey particpants worked in an organisation which had an AI strategy in place, or were in the process of implementing one. It also found that while a third of respondents believe their workpace is ready to embrace the challenges of AI adoption, almost half said they were only somewhat ready, or not ready at all.

Ethical implications

More than 60% of the respondents polled expressed concerns over the ethical implications of using AI on their journalistic values. This included areas such as fairness, accuracy and transparency. The need for human interaction was also addressed, with respondents recognising that any content generated by AI would need to be fact-checked and signed off by a journalist or editor in order to minimise potential pitfalls such as bias or inaccuracies.

“This survey is a fascinating snapshot of the news media at a critical juncture in its history”, said co-author of the report and Director of JournalismAI, Professor Charlie Beckett.

“Our survey shows that the new generative AI tools are a potential threat to the integrity of information and the news media. But they also offer an incredible opportunity to make journalism more efficient, effective and trustworthy.”

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