Australians skeptical of AI’s role in news content

Australians are increasingly wary of news articles written by generative artificial intelligence, despite the growing trend of media companies utilizing this emerging technology. According to the federal government’s latest Television and Media Survey, conducted on about 5000 Australians in late 2023, 61 percent of respondents were aware of generative AI, with half having used the technology. However, there is a strong negative sentiment towards its application in news content.

The survey revealed that nearly four in five respondents who were familiar with generative AI stated that their trust in a news story would be negatively affected if they discovered it had been entirely written by AI. Even if the story had only been assisted by artificial intelligence, over half of these Australians expressed that their trust would still be compromised.

The main concerns cited by respondents included the fear that AI models utilize data from unreliable sources, as well as worries about integrity and the lack of human ethics and accountability in AI-generated news. Additionally, 95 percent of those aware of the technology believed that people should be informed about the extent to which news is created by generative AI.

This skepticism towards AI-generated news comes in the wake of a recent incident where Channel Nine issued an apology to a Victorian MP for publishing a digitally altered image created using Adobe Photoshop’s AI tool. News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson acknowledged the potential revenue benefits of AI but also warned of the risks it poses to journalism and society.

As the government continues to monitor the impact of AI on media consumption, News Corp Australia has implemented new guidelines requiring AI-generated content to be reviewed and approved by editors before publication. With ongoing discussions around AI regulation, the government has appointed experts to assess risks and develop restrictions on the technology’s use.