T

he rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has already transformed industries from finance to healthcare, but its impact on journalism is only beginning to be understood.

In a recent study titled "AI Adoption in South African Newsrooms: Exploring Journalists' Perceptions", published in the Communicatio journal, Soligah Solomons, a lecturer at the School of Communication Studies, and her co-author Musawenkosi Ndlovu, examine how South African journalists perceive the AI wave crashing into their newsrooms. Their findings paint a mixed picture – one that reveals both the promise and peril of this digital disruption.

For years, newsrooms worldwide have struggled to adapt to the digital age, with print circulation plummeting and advertising revenues drying up. AI promises a way out – or so the tech evangelists claim. It can automate mundane tasks, free up journalists to chase big stories, and even help uncover investigative leads. But as Soligah and Musawenkosi's study reveals, South African journalists remain deeply sceptical about this technological revolution.

"AI is inevitable," said one journalist interviewed for the study. "Newsrooms in our country will have to adapt to the growth of artificial intelligence in our workplace. In an ever-growing and fast-paced industry, we need to keep up with what is happening in the world and that means keeping up with the latest technologies."

Yet, despite this sense of inevitability, many journalists expressed concern about the broader implications of AI adoption. One key issue is the potential for AI systems to reinforce existing biases. Because algorithms are often trained on historical data, they risk amplifying the same racial, gender, and economic inequalities that have plagued traditional journalism for decades.

Soligah and Musawenkosi's study found that many journalists worry that AI could inadvertently deepen these divides. "I do believe there may be biases in AI systems," one interviewee noted. "As they are created by humans who themselves have their own biases, those biases could be coded into the information that the AI system gives out."

Moreover, the researchers found that while AI might increase the volume of stories a newsroom can produce, it may do little to improve the quality of those stories. Many journalists noted that good reporting still relies on human intuition, curiosity, and empathy – qualities that no algorithm can replicate.

"AI makes things easier," one respondent admitted, "but I do believe it will give journalists more time to research stories. But in a South African context, I always wonder how AI will contribute to telling true stories of people and their issues in South Africa."

The study also highlights a more pragmatic concern – money. For many cash-strapped South African newsrooms, the cost of implementing AI is simply too high. As one journalist bluntly put it, "AI use will require an investment in technology that is in line with AI use. We simply do not have that money at this moment."

Yet, even as these concerns simmer, the march of technology is unlikely to slow. AI is already reshaping journalism in the Global North, where organisations like the BBC, The Guardian, and The Washington Post have integrated automated news production into their workflows. South Africa's newsrooms may have to follow suit if they hope to remain competitive in an increasingly digital world.

The challenge for these newsrooms, as Soligah and Musawenkosi suggest, is not merely to adopt AI, but to do so thoughtfully – finding ways to integrate technology without sacrificing journalistic values. That means investing in training, developing ethical guidelines, and, crucially, ensuring that the voices of local communities are not lost in the rush to automate.

For South Africa's media, the stakes could not be higher. In a country where press freedom is still a relatively recent achievement, the decisions made today about AI will shape the future of journalism for decades to come. And as the findings of Soligah and Musawenkosi make clear, those decisions will require a careful balancing act – one that blends technological innovation with a commitment to telling the human stories that matter most.