Journalists have been advised on the importance of ethical responsibility, transparency, and cross-sector collaboration in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in journalism.
Panelists at the conversation organised by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) to mark this year’s World Press Freedom Day have harped on the issues during the conversation tagged ‘Can the press stay free in an AI-driven world?’
The Director of Projects, Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation, Oluwamayowa Tijani, and Associate Editor at The Nation Newspaper, Olatunji Ololade, examined how AI is influencing newsroom practices, the state of media literacy, and the social implications of rapid technological change for press freedom and access to information.
Tijani highlighted the growing competition between human-run media houses and AI systems that can generate thousands of articles daily by monitoring search trends and social media activity.
While AI-generated content draws substantial traffic and ad revenue, Tijani warned that it may crowd out serious journalism, raising concerns that state and non-state actors could use this content to subtly inject propaganda.
He stressed the need for media literacy to help the public critically assess the sources and motives behind the news they consume and called on journalists to focus their efforts on stories that require fieldwork, human connection, and deeper context, rather than spending time on routine stories that AI can handle.
By embracing AI for efficiency, Tijani believes journalists can focus on capturing the lived experiences behind data, such as how inflation affects people’s lives, rather than just presenting the numbers.
Ololade expressed concern that AI could encourage laziness in journalists by encouraging a “cult of indolence,” leading many to rely too heavily on AI tools rather than engaging in real investigative work.
He emphasised that fieldwork remains crucial for journalism, particularly for stories that require direct engagement and investigation.
According to him, AI’s increasing influence might distort facts and erode journalistic integrity over time by remixing and recontextualising information. To respond to this, Ololade advocated for the creation of Afro-contextual AI tools that reflect African editorial integrity and cultural context, rather than relying on Western biases.
In her opening remarks, Motunrayo Alaka, ED/CEO, WSCIJ, acknowledged the potential that AI offers to enhance journalistic efficiency by reducing time spent on repetitive tasks.
She, however, warned that the associated threats, including the rise of deepfakes, increased surveillance, and algorithmic influence, could significantly compromise media independence if not addressed.
She noted that while these concerns are not entirely new, the scale and reach of technological interference have grown, presenting new challenges for ethics and accountability.
The conversation moderated by Chiamaka Okafor, Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue (MILID) Foundation, had in attendance journalists, civil society actors, representatives of the academia among other.
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