Artificial intelligence (AI) could significantly shape journalism’s future, with experts exploring possible scenarios and challenges facing the industry over the next decade at a regional conference in Johannesburg.
DW Akademie programme director Namibia Peter Deselaers says technology, particularly AI, could lead to the development of various scenarios.
These include paywalled AI, a scenario in which big tech AI oligopolies ‘exacerbate inequalities’ and access to AI, with trust in the technology and its quality increasing.
Deselaers was speaking at a conference on the future of journalism education in southern Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa, this week.
His talk explored uncertainties about the future of journalism from an economic and political perspective.
Another scenario, he said, could be that AI technology reaches a ceiling due to limitations in funding.
The discussion aimed to identify key turning points for the news and information ecosystem in southern Africa and ensuring future journalism supports healthy democracies and information ecosystems.
The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.