Can AI find a home between the journalist and the sub?

Generative AI is not going to replace journalists any time soon, says News Corp technologist Julian Delany.

What is the role of AI in media? Picture: AFP

Generative AI is not going to replace journalists any time soon, but the technology – capable of producing text, video and imagery – is going to personalise the experience of readers more than ever before, News Corp Australia chief technology officer ­Julian Delany told a future of journalism session last week.

Mr Delany, whose team is responsible for finding and assessing the ways in which journalists at News Corp (owner of The Australian) will eventually use AI tools, was speaking in Sydney on Thursday as part of US festival South by Southwest. He said personalisation would be one of the first benefits realised in media from the technology.

As to who was responsible for AI-produced content, Mr Delany said that, while the view was “harsh”, it came down to whoever published the story.

“The accountability is whoever clicks publish, which is a big call, and that’s why I take my hat off to editors,” he said.

“That accountability will take into consideration AI tools and all the rest of it, but the accountability at that moment is with an individual.”

However, ensuring the quality and safety of AI tools came back to technology teams, not journalists, he said. “As technologists, we need to make sure we are providing either a safe environment or the right tool or the right partner,” he said.

AI was being used to look at ways to complement a reporter’s work, rather than replace reporters altogether. “Certainly in my team, we’re looking at how we help a story be told better through different formats. Can AI help that? I think it can,” Mr Delany said.

On another panel, ABC head of news distribution and strategy Stuart Watt said generative AI tools could be used to complete more administrative tasks, such as metadata in content management systems.

While AI wouldn’t be replacing journalists or sub-editors, the technology could exist as a hybrid tool between both roles.

“You might be able to call on something that is somewhere between a muse and a sub editor who is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to the writing partner,” he said.