Nearly 70% of newsroom staff across a variety of backgrounds and organizations surveyed last December said they were using the technology to create social media posts, news stories, and headlines; translate and transcribe interviews, among other uses. Twenty percent said they were using generative AI (GenAI) for multimedia articles, including graphics and videos.
Illustration: GI
“Journalists are always up to date on this, which is good because this technology has dramatically changed the way journalists and newsrooms approach their work, and we need people to help us find new technology for the industry,” said Aimee Rinehart, co-author and senior product manager for AI strategy at AP.
Representatives from traditional newspaper, television and magazine organizations were among the 292 surveyed, mostly based in the US or Europe; more than 30% of respondents came from newsrooms with more than 100 editors.
“We did extensive research on AI in the news media to select survey participants, and it was no surprise that most survey participants were familiar with generative AI in some form,” said Ernest Kung, co-author and product manager for AI.
Despite the benefits of using AI in journalism, there are still major ethical concerns. The AP found that less than half of respondents have guidelines for using AI in their newsrooms, while about 60% know of some guidelines for using generative AI.
The study also revealed some other highlights. Specifically, 54% said they “probably” let AI companies train models on their content. 49% said their workflows have changed because of AI. 56% said that creating all content with AI should be banned. Only 7% of respondents were worried about AI replacing journalism jobs.
Additionally, 18% said a lack of training was a major challenge to the ethical use of AI. “Training is great, but the time spent on training is not the time spent on journalism — and a small organization can’t afford to do that,” said one respondent.
“One thing that is clear from this research is that more research is needed on AI and newsrooms, especially on finding AI processes that are practical and effective in newsrooms,” Rinehart said.
Hoang Hai (according to AP, Poynter)
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