Will artificial intelligence save publishing?
The notion that artificial intelligence (AI) could actually help journalists who are already worried about the longevity of their careers, and publishers who are battling against shrinking revenues, may seem like a long shot, but Jon Stubley argues you need not fear the robo-journalists.
Two years ago, in his final column to readers (well worth a read) before stepping down as editor of The Guardian, Alan Rusbridger mused on the changes the publishing industry had seen in his 20-year tenure.
“It was a world of known knowns. Twenty years later, we swim in unknown unknowns. We still tell stories in text and pictures, but the words are as likely to be in the form of live blogs as stories. We have learned to use moving pictures as well as stills. We work in audio, interactives, data, graphics and any combination of the above. We distribute our journalism across multiple channels, platforms and devices, including live discussion and debate.”
The phrase, ‘We swim in unknown unknowns’ is even more apt to describe the challenges facing the publishing industry today. Last week’s lunchtime debate on the future of independent journalism at Mumbrella360 discussed some of the challenges and possible solutions and came on the back of the Senate enquiry into its future just a few weeks ago.
That NYT photo identification example is interesting, but ultimately AI will benefit publishers not journalists.
Betteridge’s law of headlines is one name for an adage that states: “Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines