Lecture for seminar about future of journalism

1. New powers,
new responsibilities
On the future of journalism and
artificial intelligence
Prof Charlie Beckett
Director of Polis, LSE
@CharlieBeckett
City University, March 2020

5. Download the report at:
blogs.lse.ac.uk/polis

6. Artificial Intelligence
A collection of ideas, technologies, and techniques
that relate to a computer system’s capacity to perform
tasks normally requiring human intelligence.
Source: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism

7. What future for AI in news?
How are journalists and news organisations adapting to AI technologies?
What are the challenges and opportunities they present?
What are the financial, ethical, and editorial implications?

8. 71 news organisations from 32 countries
The Journalism AI global survey
Source: The Journalism AI Report

9. The Journalism AI global survey
Source: The Journalism AI Report

10. Motivations for adopting AI
Source: The Journalism AI Report

11. ➢ News gathering
➢ News production
➢ News distribution
What is AI
for news?

12. A strategy for AI ?
Source: The Journalism AI Report
37% have an AI strategy
63% don’t have an AI strategy

13. Strategic challenges to AI adoption
Source: The Journalism AI Report
Lack of resources & willingness to invest
Lack of skills & challenges in hiring talent
Skepticism towards technology & fear of losing jobs
Cultural issues & gaps between departments
Lack of knowledge & understanding of AI
Lack of strategy and direction

14. 1️⃣ Identify your stage and state of AI readiness
Key steps to approach AI
Source: The Journalism AI Report

15. 1️⃣ Identify your stage and state of AI readiness
2️⃣ Understand the different kind of AI technologies available
Key steps to approach AI
Source: The Journalism AI Report

16. 1️⃣ Identify your stage and state of AI readiness
2️⃣ Understand the different kind of AI technologies available
3️⃣ Reflect on what problems you are trying to solve with AI
Key steps to approach AI
Source: The Journalism AI Report

17. 1️⃣ Identify your stage and state of AI readiness
2️⃣ Understand the different kind of AI technologies available
3️⃣ Reflect on what problems you are trying to solve with AI
4️⃣ Identify what areas of your organisation might be helped by AI and how
Key steps to approach AI
Source: The Journalism AI Report

18. 1️⃣ Identify your stage and state of AI readiness
2️⃣ Understand the different kind of AI technologies available
3️⃣ Reflect on what problems you are trying to solve with AI
4️⃣ Identify what areas of your organisation might be helped by AI and how
5️⃣ Identify key obstacles and plan how to address them in a systematic way
Key steps to approach AI
Source: The Journalism AI Report

19. 1️⃣ Identify your stage and state of AI readiness
2️⃣ Understand the different kind of AI technologies available
3️⃣ Reflect on what problems you are trying to solve with AI
4️⃣ Identify what areas of your organisation might be helped by AI and how
5️⃣ Identify key obstacles and plan how to address them in a systematic way
6️⃣ Establish clear roles and responsibilities across the organisation
Key steps to approach AI
Source: The Journalism AI Report

20. 1️⃣ Identify your stage and state of AI readiness
2️⃣ Understand the different kind of AI technologies available
3️⃣ Reflect on what problems you are trying to solve with AI
4️⃣ Identify what areas of your organisation might be helped by AI and how
5️⃣ Identify key obstacles and plan how to address them in a systematic way
6️⃣ Establish clear roles and responsibilities across the organisation
7️⃣ Pick one or more projects to experiment with and start small
Key steps to approach AI
Source: The Journalism AI Report

21. Editorial & Ethical implications
Source: The Journalism AI Report
⚠️ Savings or investments ?

22. Editorial & Ethical implications
Source: The Journalism AI Report
⚠️ Savings or investments ?
⚠️ Misinformation

23. Editorial & Ethical implications
Source: The Journalism AI Report
⚠️ Savings or investments ?
⚠️ Misinformation
⚠️ Artificial vs Human intelligence

24. Editorial & Ethical implications
Source: The Journalism AI Report
⚠️ Savings or investments ? ⚠️ Algorithmic bias
⚠️ Misinformation
⚠️ Artificial vs Human intelligence

25. Editorial & Ethical implications
Source: The Journalism AI Report
⚠️ Savings or investments ? ⚠️ Algorithmic bias
⚠️ Misinformation ⚠️ Transparency
⚠️ Artificial vs Human intelligence

26. Editorial & Ethical implications
Source: The Journalism AI Report
⚠️ Savings or investments ? ⚠️ Algorithmic bias
⚠️ Misinformation ⚠️ Transparency
⚠️ Artificial vs Human intelligence ⚠️ The role of tech companies

27. Thoughts on the way forward
Source: The Journalism AI Report
🔄 Changes to structures and culture

28. Thoughts on the way forward
Source: The Journalism AI Report
🔄 Changes to structures and culture
📖 Need for education and training

29. Thoughts on the way forward
Source: The Journalism AI Report
🔄 Changes to structures and culture
📖 Need for education and training
Potential for collaboration
(between news organisations &
with research institutions)

30. Key questions for the future of news?
Source: The Journalism AI Report
Filter bubbles/personalisation
Duplication/relevance/news gap
Distributed journalism/’local’ news/Voice and AR

31. Thank You
Prof Charlie Beckett
Director of Polis, LSE
@CharlieBeckett
C.H.Beckett@lse.ac.uk