The Growing Presence of AI in Journalism
When asked about its role in journalism, AI confidently replied: “I am an indispensable support tool in the digital age”. This is not without reason. From automated reports in the fields of finance, sports or weather to personalizing content according to readers' needs, AI has proven its ability to work quickly and accurately. Short, informative articles such as football match results or revenue reports are often processed by AI in just a few seconds. This helps newsrooms save time and costs, while focusing resources on more in-depth content.
For example, The Washington Post uses AI through its “Heliograf” system to generate short, accurate news stories in real time. During major events such as the Olympics or presidential elections, Heliograf helps produce hundreds of news stories a day, ensuring continuous updates without direct human intervention. Similarly, Reuters has developed a “Lynx Insight” tool that analyzes data and suggests story ideas for reporters, saving them time in research.
Not stopping there, AI also participates in analyzing huge data, identifying trends and predicting reader behavior. Thanks to that, journalists can access information more effectively, while creating articles that suit readers' tastes. "I will help newsrooms speed up the reporting process", - Chat GPT replied when asked how it helps newsrooms.
AI can take over repetitive tasks, from finding information, analyzing data to optimizing content for digital platforms, so journalists can spend more time creating, analyzing and exploiting stories of greater value.
For example, The New York Times uses AI to personalize content, suggesting relevant articles based on each reader’s interests and reading behavior. This enhances the user experience and keeps readers on its platform longer. In addition, Lao Dong Newspaper is also deploying AI technology to automatically convert languages for its English page, helping to expand its reach to many different countries and cultures.
What AI Can't Copy
However, no matter how smart, AI is still just a product of humans, programmed to perform specific tasks. It lacks the core elements that make journalism valuable, such as emotion, sensitivity to social context, and unlimited creativity.
AI cannot deeply understand cultural, political, or ethical issues. It cannot tell stories that touch the hearts of readers or convey a noble message. Groundbreaking investigative reporting and inspirational stories are still areas where humans hold the absolute advantage.
When “interviewed” about whether AI can completely replace journalists, the ChatGPT chatbot replied: “AI can strongly support journalists, but it is difficult to completely replace them for many reasons, such as journalists are responsible for the information they provide, while AI has no sense of responsibility or ethics; Journalists build and maintain relationships with exclusive sources that AI cannot replace...”. This emphasizes that the core value of journalism lies in creativity, emotion and professional ethics - things that AI can never copy.
A good article is not only based on the accuracy of data but also on how it touches the reader’s heart, creates empathy and provokes thought. AI can help journalists produce content faster and more efficiently, but it cannot replace human thinking and emotion. It is these factors that make journalism different, helping the profession not to blend into the uniformity of technology products.
The question of whether AI will assist or replace humans in journalism is not just a matter of the present but also a challenge for the future. The answer, perhaps, lies in how we choose to use AI as a supporting tool or let it overwhelm us, making us dependent. Because journalism is not just about information, but also about connection - something that only humans can truly do.
