Artificial Intelligence in Newsrooms: Ethical Challenges Facing Journalists

Abstract

Artificial intelligence has started to expand in journalism, especially in advanced news organisations. It is evident that journalists are beginning to realise the importance of AI and that it will be a partner to human journalists in their work inside newsrooms. Despite the numerous benefits that AI contributes to journalism, several challenges hinder the expansion and spread of its adoption among journalists. The ethical challenges of AI systems have become a concern among journalists. Therefore, this research is guided by the relationship between technological development and media ethics as the philosophical study of morality, specifically the Social Responsibility Theory. This study adopts a qualitative approach to explore the ethical challenges of AI faced by journalists. In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 journalists working in the newsroom of a government-affiliated channel, Al Mamlaka TV in Jordan. Data obtained from interviews conducted were analysed thematically. The results concluded that the main ethical challenges faced by journalists in the newsroom in adopting AI are data bias; privacy violations; and the absence of legislation and international regulations regarding the use of AI in journalism. The study concludes that journalists at Al Mamlaka TV adhere to the basics of Social Responsibility Theory through their critical adoption of AI in the newsroom.