In this article, the author strives to discuss and to give food for thought on the recent changes in the digital space with the continuous introduction of new artificial intelligence technologies.
Keywords: AI, artificial intelligence, journalism, multimedia journalism, fake, misinformation.
Artificial intelligence is an intelligent computer system that must be able to perform tasks that are usually related to the capabilities of human intelligence. [1]. Among these capabilities, data analysis and speech recognition can be distinguished — harmless and very convenient technologies for creating human comfort in the modern world. But in recent years, AI technologies have made an incredible leap in development. At this point in time, AI can already write a various multitude of texts for the user without much difficulty or create any image. Although these AI capabilities are not fully implemented at the moment, for example, it is still quite difficult for the AI to draw fingers in images, such development trends should alert society. The latest development in this area was the creation of AI algorithms capable of simulating human speech. Speech imitation is obviously not new in the digital environment, but new algorithms allow AI to create new phrases and entire dialogues that do not require a lexical base. Previous versions of these technologies analyzed existing recordings of the human voice and modified them to sound out the desired text. New developments in this area allow us to create a plausible speech that imitates human speech much better. AI has been creating problems for public figures for a long time. Bots, fake texts and other methods of creating and spreading false information in the digital space have been created with the help of artificial intelligence for several years. The introduction of new audio AI threatens to create a new kind of disinformation.
It is important to note that artificial intelligence does have its advantages, for example, it is very useful when creating texts and facilitates a person's workload. But the potential danger of using artificial intelligence in malicious ways is still great and quite relevant. When analyzing the articles of other researchers, it was quite obvious that this topic is not discussed often enough. Despite the fact that this problem has existed for a long time, and that it may no longer make sense to discuss this topic, the potential of artificial intelligence tools remains quite intimidating. One of the areas that will be most affected by this is journalism, in particular multimedia journalism. The dependence of this field of activity on digital platforms has already created an ideal breeding ground for the creation of fake news and misinformation by artificial intelligence. In an environment where society is so closely intertwined with digital gadgets, it is already difficult to distinguish the truth from what actually exists, and with new developments in the field of artificial intelligence technologies, it will be even more challenging.
Reasons for concern
The threat posed by artificial intelligence is very significant, but the fact remains that concern about the abuse of such gadgets rather exposes a person to be paranoid than skeptical. Society is already consuming media and information dedicated to artificial intelligence and its dangers, which has reduced the sensitivity of the population to real problems. In addition, this is combined with new behavioral trends among the young population of society and creates a ideal conditions for the unrestrained use of artificial intelligence without seemingly any consequences or repercussions.
The first real problem with artificial intelligence was identified with the help of deepfakes created by artificial intelligence images that are essentially fake [2]. The first wave of deepfakes caused a stir in the media, and although it hardly did anyone any harm, it demonstrated the potential of artificial intelligence-based tools that can be used not only for entertainment. The ever-evolving Deepfake technology was first used to create funny videos and images commonly used as memes for the general public, but later the technology could and most likely will be used to create potential fake evidence or proof of any activity.
Thanks to new innovations in artificial intelligence technology, it is much easier to generate information fragments that can be passed off as authentic on the Internet. The main problem here is the “echo chamber» effect. “An echo chamber arises in a space where a group of participants prefers to communicate with each other, excluding outsiders. The more fully this network is formed (that is, the more connections are created within the group and the more connections with outsiders are broken), the more isolated the group is from the introduction of views from the outside, while the views of its members are able to spread widely within it” [3]
Given the existence of narrow thinking and a tendency to overreaction among a large number of Internet users, it is safe to say that even if deepfakes or other materials created with the help of artificial intelligence are recognized as fake, they will still achieve the desired results due to the way information circulates on the Internet.
Nevertheless, things like audio materials still have weight as evident in most cases, but given the latest innovations in the development of artificial intelligence, they can also be considered an unreliable source. In March 2023, some news agencies highlighted a new artificial intelligence tool that allows users to create authentic-sounding audio recordings of real people. Again, this tool is used so far only for creating memes and other entertainment purposes. For example, there are many videos on YouTube in which US presidents play with each other in the video game called Minecraft. Although the videos obviously use new artificial intelligence technology, the sound quality should raise several questions about the reliability of audio materials as evidence in the future. The same technology also puts music artists in a difficult position, since their active participation in music creation in the coming years may be seriously reduced, as a result of which they will earn less, and the music industry, like many others, will be absorbed by artificial intelligence technologies.
Journalism and AI
Multimedia journalism itself focuses on the practice of modern journalism, which distributes news content either using two or more media formats over the Internet, or by distributing a news report through several media platforms. Integrating into the virtual space, journalism is playing a dangerous game with the consumer masses. Misconceptions and fakes are widespread in the digital space due to the way the Internet works, and this can negatively affect the credibility of a journalistic organization and many other factors.
As for the main topic of this article, journalism may suffer from new technologies more than other industries. Even without the intervention of artificial intelligence, many questions remain about journalism as an industry. The ideals in this area are most often questioned due to the fact that some journalistic agencies belong to biased individuals to disseminate the information they or an allied third-party need. The necessity for journalism to be unbiased and neutral in relation to any topic, apparently, has long been forgotten and is used only as a cover for real activity, while journalists themselves prefer to write emotional and highly dramatic texts that attract the attention of more people, instead of covering problems as required by the covenants. journalism. In the digital space, the situation is getting even worse due to the increasing number of people who declare their distrust of journalistic activities, due to factors such as public journalism and personal blogging, which currently have more influence in some areas than official sources. With the introduction of new artificial intelligence technologies, an attempt is being made to combat fake news and disinformation. But the problem is that these terms have been appropriated and misused by influential actors for incomplete or false coverage of events in the news, which leads to misinformation and, consequently, to a sharp drop in confidence in news organizations. Disinformation includes all forms of lies, inaccurate or misleading information intentionally developed, presented and promoted with the aim of causing public harm or profit. To counteract this phenomenon, institutions, organizations, universities, the media and Governments have supported several initiatives. Many of these initiatives are based on artificial intelligence, which designs and develops bots and algorithms used by many social and other internet platforms aimed at combating information toxicity [5]. While this is a positive development, the introduction of new AI tools also creates more opportunities for the same actors to use new fake materials in smear campaigns and in other areas. Due to the fact that some, if not most, journalists care more about profit and increasing their popularity than about the idealistic component of their activities, this will further develop distrust of journalism.
Conclusion
Similar problems have been noticed for another, actively used AI tool — ChatGPT, which has caused a stir over the past month due to how well it creates texts on various topics. In conclusion, it should be noted that this article is not aimed at belittling the capabilities of AI tools. Every day, artificial intelligence penetrates into even more spheres, expanding its influence. And despite the fact that this creates more comfortable conditions for a person to work in, with positive factors that make human life easier, there are also negative ones that affect many areas of activity, such as Journalism. With the introduction of AI, users of these resources have more and more opportunities to create false and disinforming content, which can damage, the field of journalism that is already suffering from distrust.
References:
- Copeland B. J. Artificial Intelligence // Encyclopedia Britannica. 2019. November 19. URL: https://www.britannica.com/technology/artificial-intelligence
- Kietzmann J. et al. Deepfakes: Trick or treat? //Business Horizons. — 2020. — Т. 63. — №. 2. — С. 135–146.
- Bruns A. Echo chamber? What echo chamber? Reviewing the evidence //6th Biennial Future of Journalism Conference (FOJ17). — 2017. — Т. 14.
- Deuze M. What is multimedia journalism? //Journalism studies. — 2004. — Т. 5. — №. 2. — С. 139–152.
- Flores Vivar J. M. Artificial intelligence and journalism: diluting the impact of disinformation and fake news through bots //Doxa Comunicación. — 2019. — №. 29.
- Biswal S. K., Gouda N. K. Artificial intelligence in journalism: A boon or bane? //Optimization in machine learning and applications. — 2020. — С. 155–167.
