Publisher president speaks of “AI tsunami” in the media industry
Published: Wednesday, Jan 10th 2024, 12:00
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Publisher President Andrea Masüger described the advance of artificial intelligence as an "AI tsunami" at the traditional Epiphany conference. Media politician Jon Pult called strong journalism a question of national security.
A year ago, the potential of ChatGPT was conjured up at the conference, said Masüger at the Epiphany Conference of the Publishers Association in Zurich on Wednesday. "Most of us still had to look up exactly what it was." This year's conference is now entirely dedicated to this topic: "Twelve months later, the AI tsunami has fully reached our industry."
However, the findings of the University of Zurich's Research Institute for the Public Sphere and Society (Fög) are encouraging, said Masüger. According to this, the population is very sceptical about uncontrolled AI in journalism and recognizes the potential dangers. This realization is linked to a high level of trust in serious journalism.
People and not machines
However, deep trust does not mean that AI is not used by the population, Fög Director Mark Eisenegger qualified in the interview. With regard to the specific use of AI in journalism, transparency is absolutely crucial, said Eisenegger. It should be clearly disclosed how and where exactly AI is used. In this context, he also called for corresponding industry standards.
According to Masüger, the Swiss Media Association (VSM) also wants to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the new technology. The association has set up a working group to look into current developments and support members in the use of AI tools. Fög Director Eisenegger also sees good opportunities for the media industry in the spread of AI. The media need to position themselves in such a way that it is clear that people are at work here and not machines.
Economically thin
The VSM celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2024. The Epiphany Conference will be taking place for the 25th time. President Andrea Masüger used this opportunity to take a general look at the past and the future. This year, too, the association wants to take the bull by the horns, he said. In addition to campaigning for new media funding and the ancillary copyright law, the association is focusing heavily on promoting media literacy.
However, artificial intelligence is not the only potential threat to the industry. "The economic basis for journalism is thinner than ever before," said VSM Managing Director Stefan Wabel.
National security issue
In his presentation, Graubünden SP National Councillor and media politician Jon Pult formulated several theses under the title "The fourth estate in crisis. What can be done?". The most important: the media crisis is a crisis of journalism financing and not necessarily the profitability of the media houses. "This is a state policy problem, not simply a market economy problem."
Another thesis deals with the growing disinformation. The Federal Council - most recently President Viola Amherd in the "NZZ" - describes the disinformation of the population as a strategic threat. A healthy and diverse media system with strong journalism is therefore also "a question of national security".
While the association regularly speaks out in favor of reining in the SRG, Jon Pult took up the cudgels for a strong public service: "A trench war between the SRG and private media makes little sense from a media policy perspective." There is no empirical evidence that weaker public broadcasters enable stronger private media. Studies from Nordic countries have even shown the opposite. In the interests of the Swiss media market, stronger cooperation is needed.
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