Rethinking journalistic autonomy in the algorithmic era: toward context-aware, value-driven, and human-centred research into journalistic AI

Just as different production, editing, and distribution technologies have changed how audiences experience and react to the news over the decades, the recent boom in generative artificial intelligence, too, promises to disrupt potentially every aspect of how journalism is made and experienced from production through to presentation. However, just as the rise of the camera as a mechanical intermediary fostered a potentially misleading sense of mechanical objectivity, caution needs to be exerted against the allure of the epistemic assumption of algorithmic neutrality amid the growing adoption of AI technologies in journalism. Yet, amid the techno-optimism and innovation discourse, there is an urgent need to reflect on what is at stake for journalism as an institution – especially the question of journalistic autonomy. What does it mean for journalism to be autonomous in the age of ‘intelligent’ machines? And how do we ensure that the integration of AI into journalism is aligned with democratic values, not merely technical efficiencies or affordances? This article responds to these questions by calling for more context-aware, value-driven, and human-centred research into journalistic autonomy in the AI era. It offers a conceptual intervention by distinguishing between journalistic AI – technology devel-oped and used in the service of journalism – and algorithmic journalism, which too often allows technological development to determine the contours of journalistic practice. The former approach centres human values, democratic purpose, and social responsibility; the latter risks reifying technology as the end goal. Through four lenses, we examine how AI technologies reshape, challenge, and potentially reinforce the autonomy of journalists and journalism as an institution. We argue that journalistic autonomy in the AI era must be understood as a dynamic, negotiated, and contextual phenomenon – dependent not only on newsrooms but also on the broader socio-technical ecosystem in which journalism operates, comprising platforms, policymakers, technical infrastructures, and publics.