The deployment of tools such as ChatGPT has democratized instant content production.Many journalists are wondering about the future of their profession, which is both facilitated and threatened.
" No digital transformation comes without consequences ". That's what RobStones, CEO of the Onclusive group, said after announcing that more than 50% of its workforce in France would be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI). Onclusive is not a press group, but it is active in media intelligence. The threat is getting closer. Generative AI inevitably raises fears among journalists. According to a study by the JournalismAI project at the London School of Economics, published in September 2023, 60% of them are "worried" about these tools, both in terms of production quality (fake news, ethics, etc.) and the very existence of their profession. How can the media "manage" AI?
While Germany's Axel Springer has signed a partnership agreement with OpenAI to give it access to its content, the French media are more wary, particularly in light of the copyright dispute between the New York Times, Microsoft and OpenAI. Some French newspapers, however, have taken the initiative, notably Le Monde, which has adopted a code of ethics to govern the use of generative AI, prohibiting the creation of editorial content ex-nihilo by AI.
Beyond the ethical issues at stake, some journalism professionals fear for their jobs. At L'Est Républicain, articles written by local correspondents, formerly proofread by editorial secretaries, are now submitted to ChatGPT. This gradual disappearance of certain professions raises questions: how can we guarantee the authenticity of information when an initially sourced and verified text is diluted in web data by AI?
AI : a source ofopportunitys for journalists
However, 73% of journalists believe that these new tools can improve their efficiency. Interview transcription, translation, proofreading... the opportunities are numerous, and AI can also be seen as an ally. In 2023, the 13th World Conference on Investigative Journalism awarded its first prize to an AI-supported project. Couloir Furtif, an investigation into illegal mining in Venezuela, was based on the analysis of 418,000 km2 of hidden aircraft runways in the Amazon rainforest... impossible for a journalist to identify, but not for AI.
AI thus enables journalism to go further, but careful, measured use will be necessary to avoid excesses. What's more, the isolated initiatives of certain newsrooms demonstrate that there is a real legal vacuum in this area, putting authors and publishers at risk. To remain irreplaceable, tomorrow's journalists will have to learn to find the right distance from AI, one that allows them to benefit from its capabilities without relying on it.
Anna Guihard and Vaiana Lefebvre
