The Fate of Journalists in the Era of Media Colonization

By Eddy Suprapto,

JAKARTA: Human creative intelligence in the digital age is increasingly astonishing and difficult to contain. Human thought processes have leaped into cognitive warfare, a form of warfare that targets the human mind, not physical or territorial warfare. This warfare utilizes information, disinformation, and technology. What makes it dangerous is the speed of algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI).

Entering the digital era has brought about significant changes in the media industry. Social media and other digital platforms have opened up new opportunities for journalists to disseminate information and increase their reach. However, the fate of journalists is at a crossroads between the threat of job loss and the opportunity for role transformation.

The birth of Artificial Intelligence (AI), “colonization” is not the occupation of physical territory, but rather a metaphor that refers to domination by technology and values developed by a handful of powerful companies or nations, which ignore, exclude, or exploit the culture, language and knowledge of other, underrepresented communities.

Media colonization refers to the process by which large digital platforms, such as Google and Facebook, take over the public sphere and change the way information is disseminated. This has led to significant changes in the media industry, with journalists having to adapt to the algorithms and policies of digital platforms to increase their reach.

Threats and Challenges

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can automate data-driven news writing (e.g., financial or sports reporting), editing, and translation, potentially reducing the demand for journalists for these operational tasks. Polls show that many journalists fear that AI will replace more jobs in the future, adding to the pressure on existing working conditions caused by digital disruption.

The ability of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to rapidly create deepfakes and spread hoaxes complicates journalists’ work in verifying facts and has the potential to erode public trust in the media. Journalistic work, including coverage and photographs, is often taken without permission to train AI models, posing challenges to copyright protection.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms curate news feeds and content recommendations based on users’ activity history and interests. While this increases user engagement, it also creates “filter bubbles” that limit users’ exposure to diverse perspectives and strengthen the platform’s monopoly on what users see.

Role Transformation

Journalists can utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a digital assistant for big data analysis, interview transcription, and initial drafting, allowing them to focus on more complex tasks such as investigative journalism.

The role of journalists is shifting from mere news presenters to information curators, quality control officers, and public ethics guardians who verify and contextualize information generated by AI.

Qualities that machines cannot replicate, such as conscience, empathy, life experience, and the ability to conduct in-depth interviews, are becoming increasingly important and distinguish human journalists from AI journalists.

Press organizations and governments are encouraged to develop clear ethical guidelines for the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), ensure transparency and accountability, and place journalists at the forefront of the debate. Overall, the future of journalists in the AI era depends heavily on their ability to adapt, improve their skills, and reaffirm the core values of human-centered journalism. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a partner, not a replacement, in the evolving media ecosystem.

Conversely, relying on the same algorithm can produce uniform content and reinforce existing biases in Artificial Intelligence (AI) training data, potentially leading to discrimination or misinformation. A lack of transparency in distinguishing human- and machine-generated content can erode public trust in credible journalism.

There is an urgent need for clear ethical guidelines and government regulations to ensure the responsible, transparent, and fair use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the media industry. Traditional news media business models are under threat as digital advertising revenues largely flow to global platforms, making it difficult for local media to adapt and survive.

Media colonization has had a significant impact on journalists, who rely on digital platforms to disseminate their information, potentially leading to a loss of control over their content. Changes in digital platform algorithms and policies can lead to a decline in journalists’ income. Furthermore, journalists must comply with digital platform policies, which can restrict their freedom to disseminate information.

How to Overcome Challenges

Despite significant challenges, there are several ways journalists can overcome media colonization. Journalists can build a loyal and engaged reader community. The role of AsiaN and the contributions of AJA members is relevant.

Journalists can use alternative platforms that are more independent and less reliant on algorithms. Journalists can improve the quality of their content to increase reach and revenue.

Conclusion

Media colonization has brought about significant changes in the media industry and journalism, but journalists can overcome these challenges by building communities, using alternative platforms, and improving content quality. Freedom and dependency are two things that journalists must balance in this digital age.

As machines take over everything, a crucial new challenge emerges. Our brains are threatened by “Popcorn Brain” syndrome, or even “Brain Rot.” Thoughts that jump around, can’t stay focused, and are addicted to the instant gratification of 15-second videos. In the future, “Intelligence” will be cheap. Machines possess it in unlimited quantities. What’s expensive are Consciousness and Wisdom.

Machines can search for poverty data (Search). Machines can develop poverty alleviation strategies (Gen AI). Machines can even automatically transfer social assistance (Post-Gen). But machines cannot feel the pain of poverty. Machines lack empathy. Machines lack good intentions.

The times are moving forward, and the era of Artificial Intelligence is inevitable. People must not be afraid of facing the era of Artificial Intelligence; people won’t be helpless. However, they have to always be wary of becoming so good at controlling machines that they forget how to treat humans humanely.