Journalism in the age of AI |03 May 2025
A tool or a trap for the Seychellois press?
A significant dilemma at the centre of our media ecosystem arises in 2025 when Seychelles observes World Press Freedom Day like the rest of the world: Will journalists continue to tell stories or will they merely operate prompts in an AI-driven world?
AI is transforming the way that information is collected, processed, and disseminated, as the Unesco 2025 subject "Reporting in the Brave New World: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Press Freedom and the Media" accurately notes. Although this transformation offers previously unheard-of efficiency, it also calls into question journalism's core value – the human connection to the truth.
The change is noticeable in several newsrooms across the world and in Seychelles. Once guardians of public squares, courts, streets, and parliament, journalists now spend hours in front of screens, prompting AI and copying answers into reports. Algorithmic convenience is replacing investigative grit. Human stories' sharp, emotional pulse is blunted and frequently replaced with polished, machine-generated prose.
The dangers, according to Unesco, include the loss of media plurality, the standardisation of content, and the possibility that false information would proliferate more quickly than accurate information. "AI can reproduce misinformation, spread disinformation, and enable new forms of censorship... becoming gatekeepers of information," reads the Unesco theme in its 2025 concept statement.
This should raise concerns, particularly in small island countries like ours where public trust is valuable and media variety is already precarious. How does the reader distinguish between algorithmic assembly and journalistic integrity when a journalist only presents content that was created by AI?
AI is not the enemy, to be clear. It is an effective instrument. It depends on the hand – and the mind –wielding it, just like a pen or a camera. In the words of novelist and philosopher Yuval Noah Harari, "Technology is never deterministic." It gives you power. However, it is up to us to decide whether such empowerment enhances manipulation or fortifies the truth.
AI can undoubtedly help journalists. It can automate transcription, translate languages, sort through data sets, and recommend plot points. These features can increase access to information and save time. However, this is where the risk is: the profession may forgo depth, context, and uniqueness in its pursuit of speed and volume.
A careful balance needs to be struck if our journalism is to flourish in the AI era. Here are some suggested rules:
AI should help, not replace
Journalists must recover their position as observers and interpreters of reality. AI can help with data analysis and report writing, but human observation is still required for the story's emotion, relevancy, and meaning. It is impossible to substitute field reporting, interviews, and investigative labour.
Openness with readers
It must be disclosed if portions of an article were written or researched using AI tools. Retaining confidence requires ethical transparency. Newsrooms should implement "codes of conduct stressing... AI use disclosure, transparency, and information integrity," as recommended by Unesco.
Avoid false information
Journalists shouldn't unintentionally contribute to mistakes caused by AI. Every AI output needs to be validated, cross-referenced with reliable sources, and examined critically like a journalist would. Public disservice begins with blind faith in a machine.
Maintain the worth of human-centered narratives
The quiet fortitude of a fisherman fighting climate change or the compassion of a mother who lost a son to drugs cannot be replicated by an algorithm. These personal tales must continue to be at the heart of reporting because they are the lifeblood of our country.
Training and media literacy
Journalists from Seychelles must receive training in both ethical AI use and AI tools. It is essential to comprehend how algorithms operate, the sources of data, and how biases could affect the outcomes. According to the Uneso theme, ‘media and information literacy... strengthens critical thinking’.
Maintaining editorial independence
AI recommendations and editorial judgment need to be separated by a firewall. The temptation to report on trends rather than what is important must be resisted by newsrooms.
"The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it," as the famous author George Orwell once said. AI may be fascinating, but it is the journalist's responsibility to find the truth, even if it is painful and inconvenient at times.
In summary, it is not a question of whether AI will influence journalism. It is already. The true query is whether Seychellois journalists would use AI to further the common good or let it turn journalism into a faceless, impersonal machine. We have to make a good decision. Because journalists' humanity is the only reason the public will still gravitate to them in a world where AI is available to everyone.
Richard Ramasawmy