If, at least, to get more colleagues discussing the growing use of artificial intelligence in newsrooms, then the decision to use AI sportscasters is certainly something.
While AI is inevitable, already being used, and can be a tool to make newsrooms more efficient, this decision — done in the context of stagnant pay as well as layoffs and departures from the industry — does little to allay concerns of job security in media.
There is no doubt that media workers need reskilling to adapt to changes in the industry and we hope that GMA Integrated News has plans for this alongside their announcement of their AI news presenters.
This development is a prompt for newsroom managers and their staff to discuss and develop policies on AI, which we hope will be towards helping media workers instead of replacing them.
We urge colleagues to start these conversations in their workplaces if they aren’t happening already and ensure that issues on ethics and accountability are threshed out before policies are rolled out.
In the meantime, we can do what AI still cannot: Listen to the communities we serve, learn from them, and amplify their stories.
National Directorate
National Union of Journalists of the Philippines
