The Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Digital Media on the Reality of Content Production and Journalists’ Perceptions of Their Functions and Roles

This research takes an in-depth examination of AI in digital media affecting content creation and impacting the perception of its professionals of their own roles and functions, specifically in the UAE. It is founded on a framework that theorizes AI as a structuring force that reshapes production, distribution, and interaction processes. The study embarks on a review of previous Arab and foreign literature concerning the professional, ethical, and technological adoption dimensions. A descriptive-analytical methodology was the choice for this field study. The participants were 200 journalists interviewed within the UAE. Demographic variables, AI technologies awareness, perception of their influence on content, transformation of professional roles, and ethical challenges were under analysis. The findings reveal high levels of awareness around AI (85%), while also raising its potential to speed up production and improve quality (more than 77%), alongside worries of loss of human creativity (57.5%). The findings also show a shift in professional roles in terms of algorithm supervision and credibility verification (80%) and general agreement about the need to embrace new technical skills (about 90%). Misinformation and deepfakes are identified as the main challenges (80%), followed by job concerns (67.5%) and vagueness in professional responsibility (75%). Consequently, the study recommends the provision of specialized training, development of regulatory frameworks to clarify responsibilities, setting up verification units within media organizations, and reforms in media college curricula. Equally pertinent is ensuring a complementary partnership between humans and machines that protects professional value and human facets of content.