AI based Digital Journalism: Potential, Challenges and Future Directions

The use of the latest developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in various professional fields is becoming more noticeable these days. New trends require professionals to adapt the new reality and make effective use of AI technologies. In the case of journalism, generative AI tools enhance the automatic creation of journalistic content by enabling personalized news as well as real-time reporting. While AI can be used in newsrooms to aid the demanding work of journalists and reduce costs for news organizations, its integration raises significant ethical, legal and quality control concerns, including issues of quality, bias, authenticity, and intellectual property. Recent advances in AI, such as deep learning and computer vision, have shown significant potential in the creation of highly aesthetic visual material. In this article we focus on the transformative impact of AI generative tools on visual journalism, and we present the opportunities as well as the challenges arising from their use, identifying both advantages and disadvantages for visual journalism.