Untangling the Web of Challenges: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Ethics in Journalism

Abstract

Recent advances in technology has led to the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) with the potential to profoundly affect all facets of modern life and living as we know it. Already, the impact of AI technology is being felt, and in journalism it has impacted on news production, personalization, and distribution among others. This paper explores a fundamental aspect of the profession of journalism, its ethics, without which the practice will lack credibility and therefore be unsustainable. As managers of information, journalism must be anchored on ethical principles otherwise it will lose the trust of the public and its own relevance. The emergence and adaption of AI into journalism practice has thrown up important issues regarding its ethics. The paper examines key ethical issues arising from the adoption of AI in journalism, closely looking at the impact of AI on major areas such as truth, accuracy, bias, transparency, and accountability. It looks at the consequences of automated content generation on the ethical issue of integrity and how an algorithmic bias can perpetuate existing inequalities and prejudices. The paper also examines the transparency of AI-driven systems and the challenges of maintaining accountability in the face of automated decision-making. By reviewing current research, the paper also provides a good understanding of ethical challenges thrown up by the adaption of AI in our newsrooms and propose ways to mitigating their impact, ensuring that AI advancements support rather than undermine the ethics of journalism.