AI in Journalism: A tool to streamline processes, not a substitute for rigour, says Aditya Berlia, Co-Promoter of Apeejay Stya and Svran Group 

In a session on the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in journalism, Mr Aditya Berlia, Co-Promoter of Apeejay Stya and Svran Group, articulated the pivotal role of AI in transforming journalistic practices. Mr Berlia, addressing seasoned journalists, highlighted the mission of the Svran-Apeejay Journalism Foundation: To foster quality journalism through selective intervention and embrace a wide range of thoughts and ideas. In an era saturated with information, Mr Berlia emphasised the necessity for journalism to evolve, incorporating AI to enhance its workflow.

Mr Berlia acknowledged the convenience of sourcing news from social media but cautions against bypassing verification and ethical standards. He emphasised the importance of returning to the core principles: Sourcing directly from the people involved and verifying through rigorous methods. This ensures not only legal and ethical compliance but also the integrity of reported news, Mr Berlia opined.

AI: Empowering, Not Replacing, Journalists

He dispeled the myth of AI replacing journalists. “I envision it as a complementing force, handling the heavy lifting of data aggregation, pattern identification, and even drafting preliminary reports. This frees journalists to focus on their strengths: Verifying information, adding depth and context, and crafting narratives that resonate with audiences. AI’s efficiency can significantly reduce article drafting time, allowing more dedication to critical thinking and final edits,” Mr Berlia said.

The Balancing Act: Trust, but Verify

While highlighting AI’s benefits, Mr Berlia warned against over-reliance. He reiterated that the responsibility of data verification, fact-checking, and ensuring accuracy remains paramount. AI is a tool to streamline processes, not a substitute for journalistic rigour.

“I advocate for customising AI tools to reflect the unique voice and style of each journalist and news outlet. I encourage experimentation and learning through trial and error to understand AI’s capabilities and limitations. This hands-on approach is crucial for effectively leveraging AI while maintaining authenticity and credibility,” Mr Berlia said.

A Glimpse into the Future: AI Avatars and Beyond

Mr Berlia painted a visionary picture of AI-generated avatars delivering news in multiple languages, reaching a wider audience. However, he acknowledged the challenge of ensuring these avatars convey appropriate emotional tone and sentiment, a hurdle developers are actively addressing.

Mastering the AI Prompt: The Key to Success

“For harnessing AI’s full potential, especially in platforms like ChatGPT, crafting detailed and comprehensive prompts is essential. I recommend well-constructed prompts, more than 400 words, to significantly enhance output accuracy and relevance. The formula includes a blend of the AI model, your unique context, and relevant data. Since ChatGPT sources information from the Internet, incorporating your perspective is crucial to counter inherent biases and provide the most recent context,” Mr Berlia shared.

Seamless Integration: Avoiding AI Attribution

When interacting with AI, avoid suggesting it declare itself as an AI model to ensure seamless information integration, added Mr Berlia. “The specificity of long prompts not only tailors responses to your needs but also helps protect the intellectual property of your prompt and the generated content. Companies like Microsoft offer support in case of legal challenges related to AI-generated content,” Mr Berlia said.

An Interactive Session

The AI in Journalism session was interactive that was interspersed with questions and answers. Mr Berlia took the participants through a series of exercises to introduce ChatGPT to those who were not familiar with this AI tool. He said that ChatGPT is not a search engine; it is a tool that can help the journalists. He took the audience through a simple exercise of copying and pasting an article from a popular news website. He then gave a prompt that everyone had to type in ChatGPT. Interestingly, each person had a different output to the prompt.

“Prompts serve as intellectual property, and their uniqueness can be leveraged to generate content in over 40 languages through AI avatars, transforming global news dissemination. However, AI does not replace the journalist’s duty to source and verify news. It merely streamlines the writing and editing process, ensuring originality and preventing plagiarism,” Mr Berlia said.

Leveraging AI in Journalism: A Comprehensive Approach

For effective use of AI, particularly in platforms like ChatGPT, Mr Berlia emphasised the importance of crafting detailed, comprehensive prompts. These prompts, extending up to 400 words, can greatly enhance the output’s accuracy and relevance, serving as a unique blend of the AI model, contextual understanding, and relevant data. This approach not only customises AI-generated content but also safeguards intellectual property and counters inherent biases.

Embedding Your Voice: Guiding the AI Muse

By embedding your communication style, tone, and preferences within the prompt — without referencing specific brands to avoid legal issues — you can guide AI to mirror your journalistic voice.

“I advocate for a proactive approach, recommending the “Fool Around and Find Out” (FAFO) mantra to explore AI’s extensive applications, from massive productivity enhancements to advanced image editing and creation. AI’s ability to upscale images, analyse data, and even create fake content highlights the need for careful management of its capabilities,” Mr Berlia said.

Returning to the Roots with AI

Mr Berlia critiqued the prevalent reliance on social media as a news source, advocating for a return to traditional journalism’s foundational practices — direct sourcing and rigorous verification. He outlined AI’s role not as a replacement for journalists but as a tool to augment their capabilities. AI can undertake data aggregation, pattern identification, and draft preliminary reports, freeing journalists to concentrate on verification, adding depth and context, and crafting impactful narratives. This integration of AI, according to Mr Berlia, could significantly enhance journalistic efficiency without compromising legal and ethical standards.

AI: A Tool for Enhancement, Not Replacement

The discussion on AI’s introduction to journalism underscored the technology’s potential to streamline journalistic tasks. Mr Berlia cautioned against over-reliance on AI, emphasising the irreplaceable duty of journalists to verify data and ensure report accuracy. He proposed the customisation of AI tools to match the unique voice and style of journalists and media outlets, encouraging a hands-on approach to understanding AI’s capabilities and limitations fully.

Visionary Outlook and Ethical Considerations

“I predict the use of AI-generated avatars as news anchors, capable of delivering content in multiple languages and broadening audience reach. There are challenges, such as ensuring these avatars convey appropriate emotional tones, but I am optimistic that these will be overcome soon,” Mr Berlia said and highlighted the importance of copyright considerations in the AI era, advising journalists to ensure their AI-assisted work remains protected and distinctly their own.

The Future of AI and Journalism

Mr Berlia’s vision for AI in journalism extends beyond mere efficiency gains. “I see AI as a partner in content creation, offering customization options that cater to diverse journalistic needs — from visual storytelling in photography to nuanced decision-making in newsroom management. However, I caution about the potential challenges, including ethical and copyright considerations in using AI-generated images, and stress the importance of human expertise in guiding AI’s integration into journalism,” Mr Berlia said.

The session provided a comprehensive overview of AI’s potential in journalism. By highlighting AI’s benefits in content customisation, efficiency, and productivity, alongside the need for ethical considerations and the importance of human expertise, Mr Berlia painted a promising yet realistic picture of AI and journalism’s future. Journalists are encouraged to experiment with AI, exploring its potential applications while adhering to the core values and standards of quality journalism.

This future of journalism, as envisioned by Mr Berlia, is one where AI technologies support and transform journalistic practices, fostering a mutually beneficial relationship between technology and traditional reporting.

The session ended with Mr Berlia giving two recipients the SAJF grant of Rs 3 lakh (each distributed over six months R 50,000 per month) each to pursue a story in long form to be published in any medium (print, video, digital). These articles should be positive (enlightening) in nature about India or any of its sub-regions. This year two journalists – Anuradha Sharma and Rayees Ramzan were conferred with the grant.