It is difficult to predict the impact of artificial intelligence on the field of journalism and digital media, but it is expected that 2024 will be a turning point in that impact (Shutterstock)

News industry insiders hope that the impending deluge of artificial intelligence-generated content will strengthen journalism and restore trust in the media. Others, on the other hand, fear that the general public will lose confidence in all information, both good and bad, which threatens to have political and social repercussions around the world.

But in any case, experts and executives in the news industry believe that the appetite of governments has opened to regulate the giant artificial intelligence sector and enhance their presence in it, so where is the position of the media, news institutions, and journalism, especially the digital ones?

The annual report of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, issued a few days ago, attempts to answer some of these questions related to transformations in media and technology, and strives to provide predictions and analysis of developments in the global media landscape for the new year by surveying the opinions of more than 300 media industry leaders from more than 50 countries and territories, including dozens of editors-in-chief. CEOs, Managing Directors and Heads of Digital at leading media organizations around the world.

The report addresses the challenges and opportunities facing the media in the year 2024, and was supervised by Nick Newman, a researcher at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, who is the lead author of a number of annual digital news reports issued by the Reuters Institute since 2012.

The report rings an alarm bell for journalists and media organizations, especially digital department managers, warning of the development of technology at a tremendous speed that followers are unable to absorb and understand, and calls on forward-thinking news organizations to build unique content and experiences that cannot be easily copied and reproduced by artificial intelligence that will control News and content production by 2026, report says.

The report presents journalists and media organization leaders with a survival plan through developing live news, deep analysis, adopting human experiences based on communication, as well as developing longer audio and video formats that are expected to withstand the advance of artificial intelligence more than text.

The report does not call for a confrontation with new technology, but rather it urges the use of technologies - including artificial intelligence - to make the work of journalism and media more efficient in an increasingly difficult economic climate, and at the same time calls for the use of these technologies in publishing and distributing content to be more suitable for a different and diverse audience, and personalizing Content for a specific audience.

On the other hand, the report does not call for a confrontation with new technology, but rather urges the use of technologies - including artificial intelligence - to make the work of journalism and media more efficient in an increasingly difficult economic climate, and at the same time calls for the use of these technologies in publishing and distributing content to be more suitable for a different and diverse audience. And customize content for a specific audience.

Although it is difficult to predict the impact of artificial intelligence on the field of journalism and digital media, it is expected that the year 2024 will be a turning point regarding the position on the new technology of artificial intelligence, and this will depend on the behavior of the platforms and media outlets themselves, and will also be affected by the results of legal and intellectual issues related to intellectual property that could open... (or severely restrict) the way news content can be used to train AI models without appropriate compensation.

The report expects that the pressures on newsrooms will continue as a result of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as climate change, the repercussions of the epidemic, and the economic downturn. On the commercial side, the advertising market is expected to continue to slow down, and the cancellation of cookies as a result of Internet regulation laws. Reducing referrals from large digital platforms such as social networking sites will lead to widespread job cuts in all areas of journalism and media.

Given that the vast majority of all online content will be produced by artificial intelligence by 2026, the report predicts, journalists, media outlets and news production organizations will need to quickly and urgently rethink their roles and review their work and missions.

The invasion of artificial intelligence

The “disruptive” power of artificial intelligence will sweep the digital information space this year, taking advantage of political and economic turmoil around the world, and the effects on the reliability of information and the continuity of operation of the mainstream media are likely to be profound in a year that sees crucial elections scheduled in more than 40 democratic countries, and which... As well as the continuation of wars in Europe and the Middle East.

Against this backdrop, and given that the vast majority of all online content will be produced by artificial intelligence by 2026, as the report predicts, journalists, media outlets and news production organizations will need to quickly and urgently rethink their roles and review their work and missions.

Competition with artificial intelligence is not limited to the field of content production, but rather publishing and distribution of news. There are major roles expected for artificial intelligence in the field of publishing and distribution, and it will also threaten journalists and traditional media outlets, paving the way for a major reversal of roles.

2024 will also be the year in which generative search experiments (SGE) begin to spread online, along with a range of AI-powered chat models that will offer a faster and more intuitive way to access the required information, and this means that the audience for these tools may dispense with About search engines that lead to news sites and media platforms.

As a result of the sharp decline in referral traffic (converted traffic) from Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), changing algorithms will likely, over time, reduce audience flow to professional news sites, which will present news platforms with greater challenges and pressure. The report expects that media outlets and publishing platforms will seek to break their dependence on giant technology platforms and social networking sites in an attempt to build direct and strong loyal relationships with the public without an intermediary.

As a result of the sharp decline in referral traffic (converted visits) from Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), changing algorithms will likely, over time, reduce audience flow to professional news sites, which will expose news platforms to greater challenges and pressures. The report expects that media outlets and publishing platforms will seek to break their dependence on giant technology platforms and social networking sites in an attempt to build direct and strong loyal relationships with the public without an intermediary.

Therefore, the report expects that the media, this year, will resort to building more barriers to content to reduce its consumption by artificial intelligence, in addition to hiring lawyers (which will cost them exorbitant sums) to protect their intellectual property, but those barriers designed to repel artificial intelligence will expose the brands of media organizations to danger. Isolation will make it more difficult for younger and less educated audiences to reach, especially since many of them already prefer algorithm-generated news and have generally weak ties to traditional media.

But with change comes opportunity, and this report is full of inspiring ways news organizations around the world are adapting to this new world. Embracing the best of AI while managing its risks may be the key narrative for the coming year.

But these major shifts also bring with them opportunities, and the Reuters Institute report points to some inspiring ways in which news platforms around the world can adapt to this new world.

How do media leaders look to the coming year?

These are the key findings from the survey, which was based on a strategic sample of 314 news organization leaders from 56 countries, including 76 editors-in-chief, 65 CEOs or managing directors, and 53 heads of digital or innovation.

Slightly less than half of the sample participating in the survey (47%) of editors, executives and digital managers expressed their confidence in a promising future for journalism in the current year 2024, especially with the expectation that events such as the US elections will impact news consumption, while about a tenth of the sample (12%) expressed Their confidence decreased, citing concerns, most notably increasing costs, declining advertising revenues, slowing growth in subscriptions, in addition to increasing legal and financial problems.

About two-thirds of the survey participants (63%) indicated their concern about the decline in referrals from social media sites to news sources and sites, as data derived from analyzes of the Chartbeat platform show that traffic to news sites decreased by 48% from Facebook during the year 2023. , while it decreased from the X platform (formerly Twitter) by 27%. In response, the majority of respondents (77%) said that they would focus more on their direct channels in the next year, while others said that they would try alternative platforms.

Publishers and leaders of news platforms and sites said that they will make a greater effort to enhance their presence on WhatsApp and Instagram after Meta Company’s decision to open broadcast channels for publishers, and also improve their presence on video platforms, most notably TikTok (55%) and YouTube (44%), and some of them will study the Google Discover platform. ).

Most publishers surveyed say they plan to create more videos, more newsletters, and more podcasts, while maintaining a stable number of (text) news articles, to try to grow audiences and win advertisers.

Based on all of the above, most publishers surveyed say they plan to create more videos, more newsletters, and more podcasts, while maintaining a stable number of (text) news articles, to try to grow audiences and win over advertisers, and about half (54 percent) admitted % of respondents say their companies focus primarily on getting attention rather than respecting the audience's time (37%).

Strategies that publishers find important to address these risks include: providing more explanatory stories and explanatory topics (explanatory journalism), developing storytelling techniques to focus more on solutions or constructive topics, investing in inspiring human stories, and to a lesser extent increasing the published content of positive news and entertainment. like that.

The risks of selective news avoidance and news fatigue will remain a major source of concern for media outlets seeking to maintain interest in news from Gaza, Ukraine and other serious issues. Strategies that publishers see as very important to confront this risk include: providing more explanatory stories and explanatory topics (explanatory journalism). ), developing storytelling methods to focus more on solutions or constructive topics, investing in inspiring human stories, and to a lesser extent increasing the published content of positive news and entertainment as well.

On the business side, publishers continue to invest in subscriptions and paid memberships, with the vast majority of respondents (80%) saying they will be an important revenue stream, ahead of advertising. Most of those who provide paid content reported that they witnessed either a slight increase or stability in the number of subscriptions over the past year, despite the economic difficulties of the past year.

As a number of publishers seek to conclude lucrative licensing deals with AI platforms this year, there is little optimism that profits will be shared equally. A third of respondents (35%) believe that most of the money will go only to the big publishers, while nearly half (48%) say that, in the end, there will not be much profit for any publisher.

More than half of survey respondents (56%) said the most important use of new technology would be using AI to automate news, followed by providing better recommendations (37%), then commercial uses (28%). Publishers are ambivalent about using AI to create content, with half of respondents seeing it as the biggest risk to a media organisation's reputation.

The research sample included several countries around the world, most of them in Europe and the Americas, and it missed most countries of the Global South and did not include any Arab country.

More newspapers are expected to stop printing daily paper copies as printing costs rise and distribution networks weaken or in some cases reach breaking point.

In contrast, large publishers seek to maintain existing audiences, and subscriptions will evolve to include content from games, podcasts, magazines, books, and even content from other platforms.

What other possible developments in 2024?

Building on a forecast from last year, the report expects more newspapers to stop printing daily print editions as printing costs rise and distribution networks weaken or, in some cases, reach breaking point.

The report also expects to see a major shift towards aggregating digital news and non-news content as major publishers seek to maintain existing audiences, and subscriptions will evolve to include content from games, podcasts, magazines, books, and even content issued by other platforms.

As for the major technology platforms, the report expects them to resort to more paid business models in 2024, as they seek to reduce their dependence on advertisements. Last year's report correctly predicted that Elon Musk would step down as CEO of Twitter.

Intelligent robots and personal assistants will gain more momentum in 2024, raising major questions about intellectual property, and content cloning techniques are improving, raising legal and ethical questions.

According to the forward-looking report, smart robots and personal assistants will gain more momentum in 2024, which will raise major questions about intellectual property, and content replication technologies are improving, which raises legal and ethical questions.

Overall, battles between those harmed by the AI ​​revolution and those who benefit from it will continue throughout 2024, leading to more discussion about its risks to humans, and as those who benefit from AI take the lead, governments will struggle to try to understand and control the new technology.

Source: Al Jazeera