Journalist Emilia Diaz-Struck, involved in the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Panama Papers" stories on tax havens, said Sunday that artificial intelligence could be useful in investigative reporting but called for efforts to ensure credibility in coverage.
"It is the beginning of new things," the data and research editor of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists said at an event in Tokyo to discuss the use of generative AI, such as ChatGPT, in reporting, playing down concerns the new technology will mean the "end of journalism" or the "end of journalists."
But she noted that the principles of journalism, ethical standards, as well as the role of journalism in holding power to account will remain unchanged.
"We also need to understand the human factor remains central to journalism," she said, underscoring the importance of "fact-checking and validation to be able to do our full analysis" because AI cannot be fully reliable and to ensure transparency when using AI-analyzed data.
Generative AI can utilize vast amounts of data from the internet and other sources to generate text, images, or other media in a human-like way. Among them is ChatGPT, developed by U.S. tech firm OpenAI, which has recently captured the world's attention.
Along with hopes for the potential efficiencies and new opportunities the technology presents, concerns remain over privacy and copyrights violations from the enormous amounts of online data the systems draw on to produce their content.
ICIJ is a group of hundreds of journalists that reported Panama Papers stories in 2016 based on massive leaked documents. They rocked the world by exposing shady economic activities by key politicians and influential figures while leading to increased global efforts to crack down on offshore tax havens.
Kyodo News is an ICIJ partner.
