Bhutanese journalists are increasingly using AI tools to streamline their work, enhance storytelling, and improve access to information. However, challenges such as ensuring credibility and ethical concerns remain significant. These issues were discussed during a panel discussion at the two-day Annual Journalism Conference in Paro, which concluded today.
Journalists across the newsrooms in the country recognise AI’s potential to enhance productivity in journalism. For instance, these tools can automate transcription, assist in data analysis, and even draft basic news reports. This enables reporters to focus on more in-depth crafting, analysis and investigative reporting.
“When we use AI it helps us manage time efficiently. It provides us with new and creative ideas which we did not even think off,” said Tshering Tenzin, a radio jockey, Kuzoo FM.
“The media fraternity function on the basis of public trust and for that, journalists, we know are the guardians of truth. So, we need to use the AI tools to make our job easier; for example, paraphrasing, summarising, and transcribing. They make our job a lot easier. For that matter AI is quite helpful,” said Tshering Dorji, media consultant, Ox Media.
“Sometimes we come across technical terms and jargons that are not used often. So, if we use AI to simplify them, it does in many ways. So, it makes our works very easy,” said Chencho Dema, a reporter, Kuensel.
With its potential, integrating Artificial Intelligence into Bhutanese journalism also comes with its share of challenges such as lack of training and concerns over data privacy. Experts worry about the risks that AI brings, including misinformation and biases in automated content creation.
“There is room for the reporters to use it efficiently, effectively and without distorting the information leading to disinformation or misinformation. Another challenge of using AI is that, it questions the ethics as well as the creativity and the capability of the reporter who is using it. And sometimes there is a chance of depending too much on AI, killing the very essence of journalism,” said Yeshey Lhadon, editor, Bhutan Today.
“As media professionals, we function under public trust and our duty is to disseminate factual stories and educate the people. If this duty is relied fully on such mechanism, we have to think if people will have faith in our works,” said Tshering Dorji, media consultant, Ox Media.
“On one hand, it really enhances your writing skills and if you are depending on it too much, it will make you lazy to go to field and rather do it using AI generated contents. And because of that we are not able to give a human touch in the story because it is all automated content. So, here, our credibility is at stake and is questionable,” said Chencho Dema, a reporter, Kuensel.
Experts say Artificial Intelligence could be transformative by providing handy tools for storytelling and citizen engagement. However, they emphasise the need for better infrastructure, training and ethical guidelines to fully utilise its potential.
Namgay Wangchuk, Paro
Edited by Kipchu
