WHY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS RE-WRITING THE FUTURE OF MEDIA WORK.
By Philip Janet Kavutha
The media business is at the verge of change like it never has been. The products that had taken decades before to develop are currently being rediscovered in a night. AI is not knocking at the door of the media world, but it is already inside the house, moving the furniture around. As media theorist Marshall McLuhan has used to caution, the medium is the message. The media today is AI, and the message is simple: adapt or die.
The way AI is transforming the media is mainly by automating repetitive processes. The newsrooms now use AI to transcribe interviews, verify facts, create captions, organize videos, and even write fundamental news pieces, e.g., a summary of a sport event or weather forecast. Jobs that required hours to complete can be accomplished in seconds. This compels the media professionals to reconsider their worth: it is not massively laborious behavior but human creativity, interpretation, and research.
The other massive change is the emergence of algorithmic content distribution. On social media, such as Tik Tok, YouTube, or Instagram, AI dictates viral and buried content. Algorithms are no longer controlled by editors and producers; they determine what millions of people watch every day. This implies that contemporary media professionals have to know about data analytics, the behavior of the audience, and how the platform works, not only storytelling.
The skillsets needed in the media careers are also changing through AI. Designers are training AI-enhanced editing technology. Machine learning is being used to analyze investigative data by journalists. Creativity and analytics are being integrated by producers. The future media practitioner needs to be an artist and technologically savvy.
However, it is met with fear, especially the fear of being displaced in the workplace. Although AI can automate the processes, it will not be able to reproduce human judgment, empathy, morals, or understanding of the context. Machines have the capability of generating content, but they will never understand sense. They are able to foresee tendencies, yet they are not able to question authority. It is in this context that human media workers cannot be replaced.
However, AI is a source of grave threats. Deepfakes, audio manipulation and an algorithmic echo chamber are all menaces to the truth. In the current age of misinformation that is spread
more rapidly than facts, verification and ethical reporting of the media practitioners are more of a stronger vigilant role. Journalism relies on its credibility.
AI is not coming to destroy media jobs it is coming to make them better. The future of the media business will go to the ones who can combine technology with creativity, who do not hold onto innovations but who can welcome the challenge and realize that AI is not competition but rather
an accelerator. It is no longer a question whether AI will change the media, or it already has. The actual issue is: who will be ready to flourish in the world that it is developing?
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