MAPPING OF ETHICAL ISSUES IN THE APPLICATION OF
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN JOURNALISM AND THE POLICY AGENDA
Nuarita Novianasari
Maria Mediatrix Chrisanty Paramitya
Department of Communication Science Faculty of Social and Political Sciences Universitas Gadjah Mada
The funding source is assisted by the Program Beasiswa S2 Dalam Negeri Kementerian Kominfo
Mapping of Ethical Issues in the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and
the Policy Agenda
Since the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) was introduced in 1956, AI technology has been gradually applied in various fields, including in the news industry, especially journalism. This study aims to find out how the ethics of using AI in the news industry, especially journalism as a digital innovation step and whether the problems that arise are covered by existing regulations in Indonesia.
The method used is literature study or literature review by collecting data sources related to a topic. The researcher conducted an online database search with a large repository of academic studies and scanned the list of references included in the articles to find related studies. The results of the search and research found that there is no clear regulation as a source of legal umbrella regarding the ethical use of AI in the news industry in Indonesia. Finally, the article offers regulatory recommendations as a framework for ensuring the responsible and ethical use of AI.
Keywords: ethics, artificial intelligence; AI; journalism; regulatory recommendation
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Research Method
Results and Discussion
Conclusions and Recommendations
Introduction
“A revolution of intelligent machines, from self-driving cars to smart digital assistants, is now remaking our world, just as the Industrial Revolution remade the world of the nineteenth century. AI is not some science fiction droid from the future. It’s right here, right now, and it’s changing our lives at lightning-fast speed.”
(How People and Machines Are Smarter Together, Nick Polson &
James Scott, 2018)
Since the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) was introduced in 1956 by John McCarthy at the Dartmouth Conference, AI technology has been gradually applied in various fields, including in the news industry, especially journalism. The development of AI has brought about significant changes in the journalism industry.
In recent years, news media have been greatly disturbed by the potential of technology-based approaches in the creation, production and distribution of news products and services (Hernandez Serrano et al. 2015; Örnebring 2010), such as data journalism (Coddington 2015;
Hermida and Young 2019), automation (Linden 2017b; Lewis et al. 2019), analytics (Nelson and Tandoc 2018; Ferrer-Conill and Tandoc 2018), and drone and immersive journalism (Harvard 2020; Kang et al. 2019).
In China and Europe, the application of AI in the news industry has reached a higher level where they are starting to use AI to replace news anchors in delivering news. For example, China in 2017, the news agency Xinhua launched an AI platform, and 2018 first broadcast machine- operated content for video news during two of China's most important political gatherings.
Xinhua developed the world's first news anchor, who can work 24 hours a day, news broadcasts are carried out on the Xinhua website and several other social media platforms (Yu & Huang, 2021)
Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the use of robots in the media industry through an AI system has been carried out by an online media called Beritagar.id since 2017 (Amran & Irwansyah, 2022). The robot here is known as the journalist robot. One of the journalistic robot products in Beritagar.id is writing the results of football match news. Then most recently, in May 2023, tvOne introduced the first AI technology news anchor (in www.voaindonesia.com). The new breakthrough made by tvOne is the first in Indonesia.
Based on the explanation above, it can be drawn that the use of AI has made a significant contribution in accelerating the production, analysis and dissemination of news. However, the use of AI in journalism also raises a number of ethical issues that need serious attention. The ethics of using AI in the news industry is very important because it has great potential to influence the information that is consumed by the public at large. The decisions that AI algorithms make in selecting, producing, and disseminating news have major implications for the quality of information, press freedom, and overall social impact.
Therefore, this article poses a research question, "how is the ethics of using AI in the news industry, especially journalism?", then "are the problems that arise under the umbrella of existing regulations in Indonesia?"
This article aims to review the ethical implications of using AI in journalism, identify challenges faced, and present recommendations to ensure responsible and ethical use of AI.
RESEARCH METHOD
The method used is literature study or literature review. This method is a research design by collecting data sources related to a topic. Data collection for literature study was carried out using a database search tool as a literature search stage. The literature study aims to describe the main content based on the information obtained (Herliandry et al. 2020). Research in AI ethics ranges from reflections on how ethical principles can be applied in the decision routines of autonomous machines (Anderson et al. 2015; Etzioni et al. 2017; Yu et al. 2018) to meta-studies on AI ethics.
The next step, the researcher explores and selects the title, abstract, and identified article keywords based on research needs. Finally, the article reference list was scanned with the aim of finding related studies to start a literature study. The steps above were carried out collaboratively by the three authors in the assessment process. Thus, any discrepancies were discussed by the three authors until a consensus was reached.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Literature Review on the Application of AI in the World of Journalism
Artificial Intelligence is not just a technology but is a force that includes reshaping everyday practice, individual and professional interactions, and the environment (Taddeo and Floridi, 2018).
Fact checking (automated fact-checker): An automated fact-checking system can assist including, a) finding relevant claims that have been fact-checked beforehand, b) translating multilingual content and summarizing relevant uploads, articles or documents if needed for fact- checking.
Personalized news : AI system can be used to personalize news content based on user interests and preferences. AI has strong capabilities in personalizing communication content (Sundar, 2020).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Content recommendations : AI can be used to recommend news content to users based on their reading history and behavioral. It improves user experience, helps users find appropriate and relevant content. But excessive personalization can also affect the behavior of readers in the long term, causing them to avoid information that is counter-attitudinal.
Journalistic news production process using AI :
AI robots process news production technically with low costs, very average writing speed, and coverage of a wider spectrum of sports news. Writing news using AI robots uses words that tend to be stiff and boring. Unlike human journalists who can be more creative and analytical that makes the news become more interesting.
Talking about the ethics on practice of journalism have been a concern for journalist, where the trust that has been created between the writers and readers will fade if dishonest methods are used, as well as when misleading information is written intentionally.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The are a number of main issues related to automated journalism ethics including accountability, data sources & publicity transparency, data accuracy & quality, and data manipulation.
Accountability : The case of automated journalism, where the editor, fact-checker, and programmers have the responsibility to solve if there are defamation and errors in the algorithm to produce articles or news.
Data sources and publicity transparency : this data sources and transparency is related to identity. Automation becomes a problem when the data quality of the new is poor, which means the data is inaccurate and does not come from a reliable source (Jamil, 2021).
Data accuracy and quality : if the data accuracy and quality of the data is poor, then the articles or news produced will makes the output bad. The ethical task must be carried out is to use correct, objective, and accurate data.
Data manipulation or data distortion : It’s data manipulation or distortion problem if someone modifying the results with bad intentions or to introduce bias in the AI algorithm. Where the bias in the algorithm can affect the readability of data, but also can affect the precision and accuracy of news articles.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
AI ethics in Indonesia
In Law Number 40 of 1999 concerning the press, article 1 paragraph 4 concerning journalists is a party that has the right to carry out journalistic work such as collecting and processing information as well as making publications. AI technology can also do the same thing journalists do. AI does not have a legal umbrella and ethical guidelines like journalists, even though journalists have supervised AI, there will be accountability issues (Indaianto, 2020).
The limit and definitions in laws and regulations regarding the press are irrelevant to today’s reality. The existence of AI is one of the debates against Article 8 of the Press Law regarding guaranteeing legal protection for journalists (Wardaya & Komari, 2011).
Article 12 of the journalistic code of ethics concerns, journalists who do not plagiarize or quote news without mentioning the source. In the news content production process, AI collects information from other media. The duties of editors and journalists are to oversee content production carried out by AI so as not to plagiarize and improve news accuracy (Indaianto, 2020).
AI must be balanced with ethics as a form of accountability in the production of news content.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Establishment of a Special Regulatory : The government may consider establishing a regulatory agency specifically overseeing the use of AI in the news industry.
Ethical Guidelines for Using AI in Journalism : Regulators can develop clear and comprehensive guidelines on the use of AI in the news industry. These guidelines must include ethical principles covering fairness, accuracy, transparency and protection of privacy.
Impact Assessment and Audit of AI Algorithms : It is important to require news agencies to carry out regular impact assessments and audits of the AI algorithms they use. This will help identify and address unintentional bias, discrimination or other negative influences.
Transparency and Public Explanation : News agencies should make it mandatory to provide transparent explanations to the public about the use of AI in the production and dissemination of news.
Overall, the use of AI in journalism offers great potential, but it also raises complex ethical questions. By adopting an ethically focused and multi-stakeholder approach, we can ensure that the use of AI in journalism aligns with ethical values and delivers positive benefits to society.
Policy agenda
The following are some regulatory recommendations to consider:
1.
2.
3.
4.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5. Training and Ethical Awareness :It is important to provide journalists, editors and technology developers with training and ethical awareness in the news industry. This will help increase understanding of the potential ethical impacts of using AI and develop skills to use technology responsibly.
6. Industry and Academic Collaboration : Governments can encourage collaboration between the news industry and academia to conduct joint research on the ethics of using AI in journalism. Ensuring fair and inclusive access to AI technology and information generated by AI, so that the digital divide does not further deepen the gap in access to information.
7. Privacy Protection and Data Security : Regulations must ensure robust privacy protection and data security in the use of AI in the news industry. Data collected or used by AI algorithms must be managed with care and must comply with applicable privacy laws