AI pushes journalists to rethink roles, skills, and responsibility

As Tet approaches, many journalists take the quieter holiday period to reflect on their careers in the age of AI. With Lunar New Year editions completed and newsroom activity slowing, the seasonal pause offers a rare opportunity to step back from daily deadlines and consider how emerging technologies are reshaping journalistic work and professional priorities in the year ahead.

AI has become more prevalent in journalism. Some writers use it to review documents, others to brainstorm article outlines, and some simply chat with it to test its knowledge. The emergence of AI in journalism sparks curiosity and excitement for many, but also brings anxiety and worry, much like in other industries. Will AI replace human writers? Will news reports, analytical pieces, and even economic commentaries one day be generated by machines? And if so, where will journalists stand in the fast-growing progress of technology?

It is not just with the arrival of AI that journalism has been forced to question its own future. At every major technological turning point, that fear has resurfaced.

When the internet took off, many predicted that print newspapers would vanish. When social media surged, some argued that journalists would be overwhelmed by ordinary users. As the power to distribute information increasingly shifted to digital platform algorithms, fears grew that the press would lose its leading role.

In reality, the story unfolded differently. Journalism did not disappear. The profession adjusted its methods to adapt to the times – shifting from print to digital, from one-way reporting to multidimensional engagement, and from chasing speed to emphasising depth, analysis, and social responsibility.

Each wave of technology has forced journalists to adjust themselves, but it has also opened up new professional spaces. Technology does not eliminate the journalist. Instead, it brings journalists back to a fundamental question: Where does the true value of journalism lie?

If the newsroom is an 'intellectual labour workshop', AI is like a new colleague who arrives without making any major statements. Its presence is quiet through everyday tasks, ranging from quickly reading a hundred-page report and summarizing background for a complex topic to suggesting alternative phrases for a paragraph.

In practice, more and more journalists are turning to AI at specific stages of their work: reviewing background before an interview, compiling financial reports, analysing data, or brainstorming outlines for long-form pieces. Time-consuming and energy-draining tasks are completed more quickly. Thus, journalists have more time for the most essential parts of the job: making a field trip, meeting sources, asking questions, verifying information, and reflecting. These are the parts of the work that AI cannot replace.

The quiet presence of AI sparks curiosity but also hesitation within the journalism community. Some see it as a practical tool that eases the workload, while others view it with suspicion. The fear of 'being replaced' – a recurring theme throughout the history of journalism – has resurfaced once again.

Across newsrooms and international professional forums, discussions about AI in journalism are becoming more measured. At the BRIDGE 2025 Summit held in Abu Dhabi last December, media leaders and reporters broadly agreed that AI is most effective in handling repetitive tasks, processing large volumes of data, and providing technical support, while journalists remain responsible for investigation, storytelling, selecting perspectives, and exercising ethical judgement.

From that standpoint, AI is not entering journalism as an 'invader' but as a catalyst for adaptation. While it is reshaping workflows, it has not replaced journalists’ core strengths: asking critical questions, verifying information, selecting perspectives, and taking responsibility for every word published.

AI can be seen as a powerful new engine in journalism’s evolution. Data serves as the fuel, but journalists remain at the wheel. No matter how advanced the technology or how rich the data supply, direction, judgement, and control still depend on the person driving. In the hands of a skilled journalist, these tools can help newsrooms move further, faster, and with greater precision.

The greater risk is not that AI will replace journalists, but that some journalists may resist learning how to work with it. In most technological shifts, people are left behind not because the technology is overwhelming, but because they are slow to adapt their mindset and skills.

History has proven this repeatedly, from the invention of the printing press to the explosion of the Internet and social media.

AI is no exception. It is a technology that is easy to access but challenging to master. Asking it a few questions, generating draft paragraphs, or refining unfinished text does not unlock its full potential. Without sustained learning and purposeful practice, AI risks remaining a convenient tool rather than evolving into a reliable professional assistant.

In journalism, the challenge is even more pronounced. Journalism is not simply about producing content; it is a public trust. Every published piece of information must be timely, accurate, properly contextualised, and grounded in accountability. AI can support journalists by processing data, suggesting structures, or identifying possible errors, but it cannot replace the journalist’s responsibility to stand behind every word presented to the public.

In economic and financial journalism, the role of AI becomes even more apparent. It is a field defined by vast volumes of data: hundred-page financial reports, constantly fluctuating macroeconomic data, overlapping industry statistics, and rapidly changing market trends. AI can help journalists analyse data more quickly, identifying anomalies and connections that would be difficult to detect with the naked eye or through manual analysis.

However, data does not speak for itself. Numbers only gain meaning when placed in the context of policy, economic cycles, corporate strategy, and market sentiment. Deciding which details to highlight, which trend is fundamental, and which risk is worth warning about – that remains the journalist’s task. It requires someone who understands the market, businesses, and readers.

When AI is used correctly, it does not make an article soulless or cold. On the contrary, AI can help an economic report become sharper, more transparent, and more valuable for reference. Thanks to AI, journalists have more time to think, compare, verify, and dig deeper into core issues – the parts of the work that create the enduring value of the profession.

AI does not take away the profession of journalism. Only those journalists who refuse to change will find themselves standing outside the flow of the job in the age of AI.

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