When AI becomes a part of daily work
As a reporter following the technology field, I probably belong to the group of people who have been exposed to AI quite early and quite often.
Initially, it was just a tool to help find information, summarize documents or systematize complex content. But in a short time, AI has done more than I thought. Dozens of pages long reports are condensed in minutes. Hours-long interviews are converted into text almost instantly. Even suggesting how to approach a topic or rearranging the structure of an article becomes easier.
However, the more I use AI in work, the more I realize that the convenience that technology brings always comes with stricter requirements for users.
I still remember once using AI to compare information for a technology article. The answer appeared almost immediately, with data and arguments presented quite coherently. If just glancing through, it is very difficult to recognize the abnormality. Only when I checked again with the original documents, did I discover some completely inaccurate content.
Although that error was discovered before the article was completed, that experience made me think for quite a long time. In journalism, the appearance of inaccurate information is not something that has never happened before. What makes me more concerned is the ability of AI to create misleading content but it is presented very coherently and persuasively, making users easily trust if they do not check the origin of the information.
Technology can help journalists process information faster, but the responsibility for verifying and taking responsibility for published information still always belongs to people. In that context, the responsibility of verifying information of journalists not only does not decrease but becomes more important than ever.
Searching for things that cannot be digitized
From the experiences in the working process, I began to pay more attention to the question being asked by many journalists: How much will AI change the journalism profession and what are the values that technology still cannot replace?
I brought that question to meet and exchange with Mr. Bui Cong Duyen - Product Director of ONECMS Convergence Editorial Office, NEKO Technology Joint Stock Company. In more than ten years of accompanying press agencies on the digital transformation journey, Mr. Duyen has witnessed many changes in the journalism profession. From the time when editorial offices began digitizing working processes to when AI became a familiar tool for many reporters as it is today, every step of technology has led to changes in the way information is produced and spread.
According to Mr. Duyen, AI is creating very big changes for modern journalism activities. Many repetitive tasks, from data processing, information synthesis to some content production stages, are being supported by technology more and more effectively. This helps newsrooms save time, resources and improve work productivity.
However, when asked about the possibility of AI replacing journalists, Mr. Duyen said: "Part of the work of journalists can be supported, even replaced by AI. But the part of work associated with practical observation, information evaluation and asking the right questions, AI has not been able to do.
That assessment reminds me of actual working trips, where the value of a newspaper article is often not in the amount of information collected but in what the writer observes and feels during the working process.
There are stories that if you only look at the data, you will never see the whole picture. Only when you are present at the scene can journalists feel the loss of a family after a storm, the hardship of a life trying to overcome difficulties or the tearful happiness of a researcher when the results after many years of hard work are finally recorded. Those very ordinary emotions, experiences and details are not in the databases for AI to learn. These are also things that help journalists see the story behind the numbers and surface information.
Perhaps that is why, although technology is changing very rapidly in the way news is produced, the nature of journalism is still associated with the ability to observe reality, evaluate information and find questions that need to be answered.
According to Mr. Duyen, along with the opportunities that AI brings, the press is also facing many new challenges related to the risk of fake news, inaccurate information, content transparency and copyright issues. These challenges are not only the story of technology but also pose higher requirements for the professional responsibility of journalists.
The more I exchanged with Mr. Duyen, the more I understood that the competition between AI and journalists probably does not lie in the speed of data processing or the ability to create content. What is more concerning is how journalists can take advantage of the power of technology while still maintaining the values that make up the identity of the profession.
Keeping the fire of the profession in the AI era
Thinking about what AI can do and what technology cannot replace, I am even more concerned about what is the fulcrum for journalists to maintain professional bravery in a media environment that is changing very rapidly.
I found part of the answer in a conversation with journalist Le Quy Hien - currently working at Thanh Nien Newspaper, who has been attached to journalism for nearly 30 years and witnessed many transformations of Vietnamese journalism.
We met at an event for journalists. The initial story revolved around the changes that technology is bringing to journalistic activities, from the development of online newspapers, social networks to the increasingly popular appearance of AI in editorial offices.
Reminding young journalists who are entering the profession in the AI era, Ms. Hien said that "the first thing to keep is love for the profession".
According to her, only when they truly love their profession can journalists overcome temptations, maintain self-esteem and professional self-respect to protect the core values of journalism.
I think each generation of journalists has their own challenges. If previously the working conditions were still difficult, today it is the pressure from information speed, from technology and the very rapid changes of the media environment. But in any period, love for the profession is still what helps journalists maintain their bravery and professional ethics," Ms. Hien shared.
Listening to Ms. Hien share, I understand that the debates about AI will also be part of the development journey of journalism. Technology will continue to change, new tools will continue to appear, but what makes the value of journalism is still people. Because after each article, each photo or each film, what readers place their trust in is not technology, but journalists standing behind those products.
Looking back at the stories mentioned throughout the conversation, I realized that AI does not actually pose the biggest challenge for journalism. The biggest challenge is still how to prevent journalists from losing the core values of the profession amidst countless changes in technology.
AI will continue to develop. Today's tools may quickly become obsolete in the next few years. Editorial offices will continue to change and news production processes will become increasingly automated.
But the more I witnessed those changes, the more I understood the value of things that seemed too familiar to journalism. Technology can change the way news is produced, but the responsibility for the truth still always belongs to the writer.
