How AI is changing journalism

The double welcome caused quite a stir: ARD tech journalist Svea Eckert appeared twice – once as herself and once as a deceptively real AI avatar on the screen. ‘It's that easy to create a one-to-one image today,’ she commented. The introduction impressively demonstrated what was to be discussed that evening in the central building: the 3rd Hamburg Press Freedom Week also highlighted the question of how AI is changing credibility and working methods – and what ethical conflicts arise.

‘Amusing and potentially dangerous’ – that's how Christian Radler, AI representative for Tagesschau, described the new possibilities of animation. He is particularly critical of the use of such tools in political communication: ‘It is often difficult to tell whether a contribution is real or artificial.’ AI can therefore not only inform, but also manipulate.

Prof. Dr. Astrid Séville, Professor of Political Theory at Leuphana University, sees a great danger in the large number of AI-generated videos on the internet, calling it a ‘littering of the public sphere’. At the same time, she drew attention to language: ‘There is a suspicion that AI smooths it out,’ explained the researcher. She is also concerned that ‘moral judgements are no longer made by humans’. The influence on political communication is worrying – especially with regard to what we ‘should keep in mind as an ideal democratic public sphere’.

The panel of experts agreed that AI will fundamentally change journalism. However, Cordula Schmitz, digital editor-in-chief at the Hamburger Abendblatt, also sees opportunities – especially for local journalism: the technology could relieve editorial offices of routine tasks – for example, formatting videos or automatically tagging content. A plus for her: ‘More time for better texts – and more time to go out and experience what's happening there.’ Cordula Schmitz sees the everyday encounters between reporters and people in marketplaces and neighbourhoods as a kind of protective zone for local journalism – ‘still’, she adds cautiously.

Prof. Dr Johannes Caspar, a legal scholar at the University of Hamburg, took a particularly critical view of artificial intelligence: ‘The digital modern age attempts to capture reality in digital spheres. For journalism, this means a transfer of creativity. Machine reason replaces human reason. This is where we are outsourcing areas of autonomy,’ he warned.

Another point of discussion was how to deal with so-called ‘usage restrictions’: these prevent AI systems such as ChatGPT or Gemini from accessing public media content. ‘This blocks the feeding of the machines,’ explained Cordula Schmitz, ‘but our content then also appears less frequently in the results.’

This is a classic dilemma, emphasised Prof. Dr. Astrid Séville: media companies must weigh up protection and visibility.

In conclusion, Prof. Dr. Johannes Caspar, who is also chairman of the Transparency International advisory board, called for a new fundamental right – ‘the right to human-made information.’ He said there is a need for a media landscape ‘that deals confidently with AI and retains control over its content.’