14/09/2025

ON SUNDAY September 14, 2025 theSunday Special VII

The newsroom of the future may hum with machine learning, but its heart must still beat with human conscience.

In every industrial revolution, the media have been reinvented.”

QR GL̆ HUHQW 7KH WRROV PD\ EH XQIDPLOLDU ± VXFK DV DOJRULWKPV GHHSIDNHV DQG FKDWERWV ± EXW WKH PLVVLRQ UHPDLQV ,I DQ\WKLQJ LQ D ZRUOG RI LQIRUPDWLRQ RYHUORDG DXGLHQFHV QHHG WUXVWZRUWK\ guides more than ever. A OUHDG\ ZH VHH JOLPSVHV RI D IXWXUH ZKHUH WHFKQRORJ\ KHOSV QRW KDUPV $, FDQ VLIW PRXQWDLQV RI GRFXPHQWV H[SRVLQJ corruption that would take human report ers months to uncover. Data visualisation can cut through jargon to make complex LVVXHV FOHDU &ROODERUDWLRQ DFURVV ERUGHUV LV HDVLHU WKDQ HYHU ,Q WKHVH VSDFHV LQ novation strengthens rather than weakens journalism. The newsroom of the future may hum ZLWK PDFKLQH OHDUQLQJ EXW LWV KHDUW PXVW VWLOO EHDW ZLWK KXPDQ FRQVFLHQFH -RXUQDO LVP PDWWHUV EHFDXVH LW LV RQH RI WKH ODVW professions still tasked with truth-telling DV D FLYLF GXW\ QRW MXVW D FRPPHUFLDO transaction. T KDW LV ZK\ GHVSLWH WKH FKDRV WKH moral tightrope is worth walking. The EDODQFH PD\ ZREEOH EXW WKH IDOO ZRXOG EH IDU ZRUVH

Speed and automation don’t guar DQWHH DFFXUDF\ $, KDV EHHQ NQRZQ WR LQYHQW TXRWHV PLVODEHO LPDJHV DQG HYHQ IDEULFDWH FRXUW YHUGLFWV ± DV KDSSHQHG LQ $XVWUDOLD ZKHUH ODZ\HUV VXEPLWWHG $, generated ‘judgments’ that never existed. ,Q DQRWKHU FDVH WKH &KLFDJR 6XQ 7LPHV XQZLWWLQJO\ SXEOLVKHG D VXPPHU UHDGLQJ OLVW IHDWXULQJ WHQ $, LQYHQWHG ERRNV VRPH RI ZKLFK ZHUH ZURQJO\ DWWULEXWHG WR UHDO DXWKRUV EHIRUH DSRORJLVLQJ DQG UHPRYLQJ the piece. These were not minor glitches EXW UHPLQGHUV RI KRZ TXLFNO\ LQWHJULW\ FDQ unravel without human oversight. T KH ELJJHU WKUHDW LV QRW DQ REYLRXV HUURU EXW D VXEWOH GLVWRUWLRQ $OJRULWKPV DUH WUDLQHG RQ WKH LQWHUQHW ± D VZDPS RI ELDV VWHUHRW\SHV DQG PLVLQIRUPDWLRQ /HIW XQFKHFNHG WKRVH SDWWHUQV EOHHG LQWR QHZV FRS\ UHLQIRUFLQJ SUHMXGLFHV ZKLOH HURGLQJ FUHGLELOLW\ Audiences are rightly wary. In our VXUYH\ RI UHVSRQGHQWV VWDWHG WKDW $, ZULWWHQ DUWLFOHV VKRXOG EH FOHDUO\ ODEHOOHG $ VPDOOHU JURXS ZHQW IXUWKHU HYHQ ZLWK ODEHOV WKH\ ZRXOGQ¶W WUXVW PDFKLQH PDGH FRQWHQW 7KH PHVVDJH LV FOHDU Ḣ FLHQF\ cannot come at the expense of transpar ency. Even the most sophisticated AI lacks KXPDQ LQVWLQFWV ,W FDQ UHFRUG D IRRWEDOO VFRUH EXW LW FDQQRW FDSWXUH WKH KHDUWEUHDN of a last-minute loss. It can stitch together SROLF\ VWDWHPHQWV EXW LW FDQQRW VHQVH the hesitation in a minister’s voice or the weight of silence in a courtroom. Machines process data; journalists process meaning. Walking the tightrope Technology isn’t the only culprit. The ¿QDQFLDO PRGHO WKDW RQFH VXVWDLQHG MRXU QDOLVP ± DGYHUWLVLQJ ± KDV FROODSVHG *OREDO SODWIRUPV VXFK DV *RRJOH DQG Meta now scoop up most of the digital ad VSHQG OHDYLQJ ORFDO QHZVURRPV VWDUYHG RI UHYHQXH 0RUH WKDQ 86 QHZVSDSHUV KDYH FORVHG VLQFH ,Q 0DOD\VLD

So where does that leave the newsroom of tomorrow? Between the promise of AI and the pitfalls of over-reliance lies a moral tightrope. Journalists must learn to harness technology without surrendering judgment. Machines FDQ GUDIW WKH ¿UVW YHUVLRQ EXW RQO\ KXPDQV FDQ GHFLGH ZKDW PDWWHUV why it matters and whether it is true. T KUHH JXDUGUDLOV DUH REYLRXV • Transparency: If AI touches a VWRU\ VD\ VR 5HDGHUV GHVHUYH WR know. • Human oversight: Algorithms VKRXOG VXSSRUW QRW UHSODFH editorial judgement. A machine GRHVQ¶W XQGHUVWDQG IDLUQHVV QX DQFH RU WKH SXEOLF LQWHUHVW ± RQO\ people do. • Values before metrics: Chas ing clicks and shares may pay ELOOV LQ WKH VKRUW UXQ EXW FUHG LELOLW\ LV WKH RQO\ FXUUHQF\ WKDW keeps a newsroom relevant. T KH SUHVVXUH LV QRW RQO\ ¿QDQFLDO EXW FXOWXUDO

Audiences also play a role. Media OLWHUDF\ ± WKH DELOLW\ WR VSRW KDOI WUXWKV question sources and cross-check facts ± PXVW EHFRPH DV EDVLF DV UHDGLQJ DQG ZULWLQJ :LWKRXW LW HYHQ WKH PRVW ULJRURXV QHZVURRP ZLOO EH GURZQHG RXW E\ ORXGHU lazier voices online. And what of the platforms? Many argue that just as factories are regulated IRU VDIHW\ WHFK SODWIRUPV PXVW EH KHOG DFFRXQWDEOH IRU WKH LQIRUPDWLRQ HQYLURQ ments they create. Whether that comes IURP UHJXODWLRQ UHYHQXH VKDULQJ RU SXEOLF SUHVVXUH UHPDLQV WR EH VHHQ Why it still matters I Q HYHU\ LQGXVWULDO UHYROXWLRQ WKH PHGLD KDYH EHHQ UHLQYHQWHG 6WHDP SRZHUHG SUHVVHV PDGH QHZVSDSHUV D̆ RUGDEOH WKH telegraph made them faster and radio and 79 JDYH WKHP UHDFK (DFK OHDS EURXJKW GLVUXSWLRQ EXW MRXUQDOLVP VXUYLYHG EH cause it adapted without losing sight of its SXUSRVH ± WR LQIRUP WR VFUXWLQLVH SRZHU and to create a shared sense of reality. T KH )RXUWK ,QGXVWULDO 5HYROXWLRQ LV

Dr Sritharan Vellasamy is a media entrepreneur, researcher and CEO of Wordlabs Global. He holds a PhD in media studies and is the founder of several niche industry publications. He writes on media, technology and society.

Humans versus machines? AI can churn out copy in seconds, but accuracy and judgment still rest with people.