Artificially intelligent, naturally ignorant: Can AI teach newsrooms to stop sidelining communities of colour?

Arti cially intelligent, naturally ignorant: Can AI teach newsrooms to stop sidelining communities of colour? 2 This paper explores how artificial intelligence (AI) can support editorial reform in newsrooms, particularly those lacking racial diversity.AI will only strengthen journalism if journalists and developers use it with care, critical thinking and ethical intent.The findings show that AI must not replace editorial judgement nor generate stories independently.Instead, it must act as a reflexive partner, one which prompts journalists to question assumptions, consider missing voices and reflect on framing choices.The paper proposes a tool which uses Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) and community-informed datasets to embed lived experience and challenge dominant narratives.AI developers must design systems which reflect Britain's racial diversity, not erase it.This research exposes a gap in the research: AI's untapped potential to help majority white UK newsrooms report on minority communities with depth, fairness and authenticity.It concludes that newsrooms must embed ethical safeguards, train journalists to use AI responsibly and ensure that every technological advance serves journalism's highest purpose: to report truthfully, challenge authority -and reflect the full breadth of society.