AI and the Algorithmic-Turn in Journalism Practice in Eastern Africa: Perceptions, Practice and Challenges
Carol Azungi Dralega · 2023
Abstract In the current post-human society, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms are rapidly being deployed in newsrooms around the world to enhance processes of news idea conception, newsgathering, writing, packaging and dissemination. Although AI adaptation has been ongoing especially in Western Newsrooms over the last decade, this process is only budding in sub-Saharan newsroom contexts. This study explores perceptions, use, prospects and challenges in the adaptation of AI and algorithms in newsrooms. This qualitative survey draws insights from 33 respondents from newspapers, radio stations, online media and community media in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia. The study found varied levels of AI adoption in several newsrooms with some newsrooms not yet using AI while others were fully experimenting with a variety of tools, functionalities – even producing their own AI tools and also in change employment patterns to accommodate the skills needed within this new field. In some of the ‘inactive AI newsrooms’ individual journalists took the onus on themselves to learn and use the disruptive technologies and while the general attitudes towards AI were positive among journalists, the attitudes among management was generally considered poor. The study concludes for the benefits to be maximally leveraged, several of the bottlenecks in application must be addressed. These include the integration of ‘humans-in the loop’, journalistic principles, decolonial and local contextual perspectives in AI development and use. Such perspectives and synergies would need to be drawn from media ecosystems – including journalism education, research, policy, industry and developers.