The rise of artificial technology is transforming news coverage by greatly boosting efficiency, but journalists and editors also need to guard against over-reliance on AI, participants of the ASEAN Media Capacity Building Workshop stressed.  

The workshop, which kicked off on Monday in Hong Kong and was organized by the Chinese Mission to ASEAN and China Daily, aims to empower media organizations in ASEAN countries to enhance their competitiveness in light of the ongoing transformation in journalism, especially given the rise of AI.          

During Tuesday's workshop, instructors from China Daily Asia Pacific highlighted AI's role as a valuable assistant in news report editing. They emphasized that AI excels at detecting spelling and grammatical errors, as well as extracting key information from large datasets. This is why the efficiency of news writing can be significantly enhanced with the use of AI, according to both the instructors and participants.

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However, both instructors and participants cautioned against relying too heavily on AI, expressing concerns that reporters might lose their jobs if their news coverage skills are compromised by excessive dependence on technologies. Romulo T. Luib, deputy director of the multimedia department at China Daily Asia Pacific, emphasized that while AI can assist reporters with preliminary tasks like information gathering, it is inadvisable to write an entire article by AI due to the risk of serious factual errors.

Robert Hope-Jones, a multimedia managing producer at China Daily Asia Pacific, discussed at the workshop how to better utilize mobile devices for effective news reporting, as well as how to use technical equipment to enhance the efficiency of digital reporting.  

Soo Wern Jun, senior journalist at Malay Mail, told China Daily that Tuesday's workshop was both comprehensive and practical. This marks her third visit to Hong Kong, with her last being 18 years ago. The city's transformation is remarkable, she observed, particularly the dramatic surge in skyscrapers.  

Jun added that she's very excited about her upcoming trip to Shenzhen on Thursday.

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Media guests from Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand also shared their experiences in using AI during news writing. They pointed out that their home countries are accelerating the formulation of management guidelines for the use of AI in journalism, ensuring the reasonable, legal, and compliant application of artificial intelligence (AI).        

Contact the writer at mikegu@chinadailyhk.com