Artificial Intelligence and the takeover of journalism – The Cauldron
Without any way to know how much AI could affect the journalism field, writers have worried over the influence that AI might cause.
The rise of AI and how it affects writers
Artificial Intelligence, also known as AI, has become a massive topic of discussion in the new technological world. With ChatGPT becoming available in late 2022, there has been an uprising in what has been deemed the “AI boom”, and an increase in public concern that AI has gotten too far out of hand.
The AI boom has affected economics, online organizations, digital media and journalism. With no knowledge of the degree to which AI could affect their fields, writers and journalists have feared the impact AI may have on their profession. With AI starting to weasel its way through the writing profession, there is a decrease in newsrooms, publications, writers, editors and distribution positions.
“As newsrooms slash over 900 jobs in January 2025 alone—following 10,000 journalism layoffs in the past three years—these same organizations are celebrating AI tools that further automate the human elements that make journalism valuable” said an article from Winsome Marketing.
There has been an increase in media sites run by AI-powered organizations that could potentially be spreading fake news. Pew Research did a study where they asked 5,410 American adults how they feel about AI and journalism, and they concluded that 59% of Americans say that AI will lead to fewer jobs in journalism.
Though journalists are also able to spread information, despite journalistic integrity and critical thinking, the inclusion of AI in journalism would only increase the frequency of misinformation. When programmed well enough, it’s possible that AI could end up a consistent presence in journalism. AI is everywhere, and it’s hard to find an organization that isn’t getting some AI benefit.
Why you should care
Even when given the notes that it needs, ChatGPT, NoteGPT, Gemini or Wix will produce an article that may or may not be 100% accurate. There have even been organizations seen using strictly AI for their news reports and feature papers. The lack of credibility in articles can also be attributed to how often viewers are actually getting insightful and honest news.
“These websites typically have generic names, such as iBusiness Day, Ireland Top News, and Daily Time Update, which to a consumer appear to be established news sites,” said an article from NewsGuard. “This obscures that the sites operate with little to no human oversight and publish articles written largely or entirely by bots — rather than presenting traditionally created and edited journalism, with human oversight.”
It continued to say that these sites send out articles about generic topics such as travel, entertainment, politics and technology. These articles contain false news such as fabricated events that seem recent, information on political leaders and even celebrity deaths.
The news organization The Associated Press has launched their own AI sources, explaining how they have been using AI to write article summaries, give tips to the newsrooms and even further the data that’s fed to AI.
AI is able to create false media of all kinds, making it harder for readers to know what is or isn’t fake. This contributes to the distrust that readers and media organizations have in the news and ultimately affects trustworthy outlets and writers.
A study from the University of Kansas has shown that readers trust news less when finding out that AI was involved in the production.
“The findings suggest that people give higher credibility to human contributions in fields like journalism that have traditionally been performed by humans,” said The University of Kansas (KU). “When that is replaced by a technology such as AI, it can affect perceptions of credibility, whereas it might not for things that are not traditionally human, such as YouTube suggesting videos for a person to watch, based on their previous viewing, the authors said.”When we read the news, we are brought to believe that what’s in front of us is the truth. As difficult as it may be to believe what we read, with the right sources and critical analysis, you still can. Do your research before trusting an article you read and you’ll prevent yourself from falling deep into the false news rabbit hole. “This is important because it can help prevent the spread of misinformation and disinformation, both of which can have serious consequences, such as spreading false information about health, elections, or social issues.” says an article from Thinking Pro “News media literacy skills can help students recognize harmful reporting or sharing, and take steps to stop their spread.”