OPINION: News literacy critical in the age of AI and algorithms - Kilkenny Live

The way that readers here in Kilkenny and across the world consume their news is constantly evolving, and the pace of this evolution has become alarmingly fast.

To ignore this fact as a journalist, in the age of algorithmically curated feeds and artificial intelligence (AI), would be akin to turning your back to a tsunami in the hope that you don’t get wet.

As algorithms grow stronger in their ability to act as gatekeepers for news, the way that they are configured must be brought under the microscope.

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Social media platforms are shifting away from traditional chronological timelines, favoring personalised content feeds instead.

From a journalistic standpoint, this can significantly influence the news that readers encounter, tailoring it to their online behavior and potentially creating blind spots in their understanding of current events.

These personalised content feeds can also reinforce inherent biases within readers, which should have people concerned.

Algorithmically curated content, at its worst, can trap readers into ideological echo chambers, undermining the democratic ideal of a well-informed public.

Part of the overall experience of buying and reading through a physical newspaper is encountering perspectives on issues (often through designated opinion pieces) that don't necessarily align with your own.

It’s healthy to be able to encounter perspectives that give you the tools to challenge your own opinions, even if the end result is the same.

In this new era of news consumption, news literacy has become more critical than ever.

Readers must be equipped with the skills to question the sources of information being fed to them, be able to recognise bias, and be encouraged to seek out diverse perspectives.

Something more subtle is also declining in the current age of news — serendipity — stumbling upon a news story or viewpoint you weren’t necessarily looking for.

AI is often optimised for engagement, not enlightenment.

So if it so happens that outrage, misinformation, or sensationalism perform better, then that’s what the algorithm will amplify. As a result, the value of professional journalism has never been greater.

While human editors can apply ethical standards and judgment, AI often lacks a moral compass, unless a subjective one is plugged into its reasoning.

By helping people understand not just the world, but each other, ethical and professional journalism acts as a societal glue and provides the common ground necessary for meaningful dialogue, policymaking and civic participation.

Journalists and editors in newsrooms are held accountable for their work, and we need to see tech platforms being held accountable in the same way.

Becoming more prevalent on social media are people using AI assistants to think for them, often asking them to explain news stories or viral news clips.

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We should not be relying on AI to enlighten us in this way. We should be using our media literacy and critical thinking.

In the same way, we should not solely be relying on our own biased algorithms to be the sole purveyors of our news content.

Search news out yourself, engage with sources of news that don’t always align with your own values, and keep thinking critically.

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