III: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN JOURNALISM

 

Artificial intelligence has rapidly entered the world of journalism. From generating headlines to drafting entire stories, AI tools are increasingly shaping how news is produced. Supporters argue that these tools can streamline the reporting process, catch errors, and even create content faster than a human. While AI may offer convenience, its widespread use raises serious concerns about creativity, authenticity, and the future of human thought.

At best, AI should serve as a minor aid in journalism. Tools that adjust grammar, polish vocabulary, or help reframe the tone of a message can be valuable so long that the ideas, research, and storytelling remain in context. Even brainstorming can be helpful, given the writer already has an idea and simply needs a spark to build upon. The line between assistance and dependence is blurring. The temptation to rely on AI for more than the basics risks eroding one of the central values of journalism: original thought.

The danger is not simply that AI can replace human effort, but that it can encourages people to stop exercising their own creativity altogether. There are many AI responses that will offer to do entire articles of work after giving an outline. Every time we outsource our thinking to technology, we weaken the very skills that make us unique as writers and communicators. Journalism, after all, is about  analyzing, questioning, and crafting stories that reflect diverse human perspectives. If reporters, editors, and even students begin leaning on machines to do the heavy lifting, the diversity of thought in our media landscape will inevitably shrink.

This fear is not isolated. Just recently, I was criticized on Yik Yak, an college forum app, for supposedly using ChatGPT after I responded to a post with vocabulary words including "entitled", "anonymous", and "cowardly". The assumption was that no student could produce such language on their own. The idea that a person’s vocabulary is now treated as evidence of artificial intelligence is both absurd and telling. It reveals how deeply society is normalizing AI dependence, to the point where genuine human skill is confused with machine output. If vocabulary and critical expression are viewed as “too advanced” to be authentic, what does that say about the value we place on cultivating our own minds?

Journalism thrives on individuality, voice, and perspective. Over-reliance on AI threatens to flatten all of that into standardized, machine-generated text that lacks nuance and creativity. While technology has its place, its role should remain limited. Writers must resist the temptation to let AI replace the very human work of thinking, analyzing, and storytelling.

When we stop exercising those muscles, we do not just risk losing jobs to machines; we risk losing the diversity of thought that makes journalism essential in the first place.