AI should not replace a journalist’s passion and hard work

KUCHING: Journalists are known to be great writers, storytellers, message-conveyers, etc. however, with the establishment of ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer) would this disrupt the great storytellers’?

New Sarawak Tribune deputy chief reporter Sarah Hafizah Chandra believes that while AI (artificial intelligence) presents challenges, journalists must focus on honing their unique writing skills.

“I think it’s important to point out that every writer has a voice, and when things are AI-generated, it’s more or less in the same tone.

“Finding your own voice may be challenging in the beginning, especially when you are just starting but at the end of the day, the readers can recognise your voice and that’s how you can grow yourself as a journalist,” she encouraged.

In the age where ChatGPT is at the tip of everybody’s fingertips, she recommended that young journalists emulate the writing styles of experienced reporters to cultivate their own voices.

“We always encourage our junior reporters or interns to copy the way senior reporters write, and when you are confident enough, take to leap to create your own voice,” she emphasised during the ‘From Convenience to Crisis: Unpacking Public Dependency on Artificial Intelligence Generator-ChatGPT’ seminar at UNIMAS on Friday (Jan 4).

However, Sarah highlighted AI’s potential as a tool to enhance journalistic efficiency, suggesting its use for tasks like transcribing audio and checking grammar or spelling.

“We can use AI to assist our work by using AI-generated audio transcribers, and ChatGPT to check the grammar or spelling of our articles,” she said.

She cautioned against relying on AI tools as shortcuts, asserting that they should be tools for improvement rather than substitutes for passion and hard work.
“It’s not just talent, but passion and willingness to learn and work hard.

“When it comes to using AI, it should be a tool used to improve, rather than a cheat code,” she stressed.

Regarding concerns about AI displacing editorial positions, Sarah reassured that the limitations of AI in conducting interviews and attending events, will not affect employability.

“As journalists, we attend many functions and interview different people, which is something AI isn’t able to do.

“If a reporter uses AI to generate a false interview, this would not only destroy their reputation but the company’s image as well,” she said.

From Convenience to Crisis: Unpacking Public Dependency on Artificial Intelligence Generator-ChatGPT’ seminar, organised by fourth-year students from the strategic communication programme of the Faculty of Education, Language, and Communication (FELC) delved into the risks of over-reliance on AI tools and ethical considerations, particularly in using ChatGPT for academic assignments.