Many journalists in Bangladesh are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) in their individual work, but corporate use in newsroom operations remains nominal, a new assessment has found.

Titled “Media Metamorphosis: Artificial Intelligence and Bangladesh Newsrooms 2024,” the assessment includes a survey of 53 journalists from 25 news outlets, as well as focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) with 13 editors and newsroom gatekeepers from print outlets. ) is a result. television and online news platforms read a press release.

The evaluation is part of an initiative by the Media Resources Development Initiative (MRDI), with support from Digitally Right and funded by the Asia Foundation, to understand AI usage patterns, address ethical concerns, and identify needs and gaps for better adoption of AI in Bangladesh. is done. news media.

The evaluation findings sharing meeting titled “Evaluating artificial intelligence integration in Bangladesh news media” was held today (October 26) at The Daily Star building in Dhaka. The program was attended by editors, newsroom gatekeepers, heads of news organisations’ online platforms, journalists, academics, fact-checkers and representatives from NGOs and the development sector.

Miraj Ahmed Chowdhury, Managing Director of Digitally Right, and Maliha Tabassum, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, Bangladesh University of Professionals, jointly presented the evaluation findings at the programme.

The survey reveals that 51 percent of journalists use AI tools in their individual work, but corporate use is much lower at just 20 percent. Among artificial intelligence users, ChatGPT is the most popular tool with a usage rate of 78%, followed by Grammarly (52%) and Google Translate (44%). Other tools include Canva (37%), Google Gemini (19%), DALL-E and Adobe Sensei (15% each), and Midjourney, Tableau, Factmata, and Turnitin (7% each), with 11% using other tools .

The primary use of AI in news media organizations is to improve grammar and writing style, with an overall usage rate of 52%. Journalists using AI mainly rely on it for content development and verification. After grammar development, research and background verification come in second with 48%.

In his opening remarks, MRDI Managing Director Hasibur Rahman said that this initiative seeks to understand current AI usage patterns in Bangladeshi newsrooms and explore future possibilities under one of MRDI’s strategic objectives to support news media in their digital transformation.

In his presentation, Miraj Ahmed Chowdhury emphasized the importance of ethical and responsible use of AI, the role of transparency through disclosure, and the need for corporate policies governing AI applications. He also touched on the lack of structured AI integration in newsrooms in Bangladesh and the potential for AI to be incorporated into daily workflows.

During the survey, nearly two-thirds of respondents reported that using AI increased their productivity and improved content quality, and 52% reported that it reduced their workload. Half of the respondents believe that artificial intelligence will significantly improve the quality of journalism in the future.

In terms of relevant concerns, the assessment reveals that concerns about AI causing job loss are moderate, with most respondents rating it at 3 out of 5. But there are strong concerns that over-reliance on AI could reduce critical thinking and affect the credibility of content.

The assessment highlighted that journalists demonstrate strong resistance to technological change, particularly AI, perceiving it as a threat rather than as a tool that creates a self-imposed barrier that stifles innovation in newsrooms. Additional challenges include surface-level understanding, a focus on output rather than process, a lack of understanding of incorporating AI into workflows and guidelines, and a fear of making mistakes that clouds the desire to innovate.

Regarding ethical use, most participants said that they were not aware of the ethical use of artificial intelligence; This suggests that the participant was not familiar with global or industry-specific guidelines governing the ethical use of AI in journalism. Journalists surveyed cited the biggest barriers to ethical adoption of AI as inadequate training and support (85%), lack of understanding of AI (74%), budget constraints (47%) and lack of clear ethics rules (45%).

Today, in an open discussion as part of the discovery sharing meeting, participants shared their experiences, discussing both the benefits of AI and concerns surrounding its use. One common challenge the newsroom faced was the entire management’s vocal support and commitment to AI adoption, but their lukewarm response to funding. The credibility and audience acceptance of AI-generated content was also discussed.

They recommended implementing a disclosure policy and creating internal guidelines for AI use, incorporating AI topics into existing university courses until a dedicated curriculum is created, and highlighting AI opportunities beyond content creation, such as website traffic management, targeted advertising, and SEO optimization. .

The assessment recommends developing comprehensive guidelines, creating transparent AI disclosures, implementing tired training programs, and modernizing journalism education to shift mindsets and present AI as a catalyst for newsroom evolution.