Abstract
This research explores the transformation that journalism practice is experiencing as a result of the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in South African newsrooms. It further seeks to draw some possible scenarios in South African newsrooms and the journalism profession as AI becomes even more mainstream. Artificial intelligence has grown fast in the field of professional journalism and has taken over the newsrooms due to technological advancements and the digital era. Early AI research centered on hard-coded statements in formal languages that a computer could then automatically reason about using logical inference techniques. In this context, the goal of this research is to gain insights into how the rise of artificial intelligence is (re)defining and (re)shaping journalism practice and newsroom routines in South Africa.
While much research has been done regarding the future of journalism. it is important to note that AI is evolving and is being adopted in different ways and in different contexts hence this study focuses on the South African context. It does this by seeking out voices and experiences of experts in the field to evaluate the context-specific disruption. Currently, there are studies that identify media that automate content, the areas in which bots are producing news, the design of algorithms, the perceptions of the audience or the reactions of journalists and the impact of the advances in technology. However, there are not many studies that explore these issues in South Africa. Therefore, this research aims to bridge the gap, considering that South Africa is the most industrialised country in Africa with relatively advanced newsrooms.
Taking a qualitative research approach, this study investigates how artificial intelligence is (re)shaping journalism practice and the newsrooms in South Africa. Twelve South African professional journalists practicing in mainstream media and editors will be interviewed and their responses will be thematically analysed. The study seeks to find How newsrooms are adapting to the realities of AI and possible future scenarios for South African journalism as AI evolves, it does this by employing Pfaffenberger’s (1992) concept of technological dramas theory. The concept holds that the creation of new technologies is inherently political. It argues that those who create technologies do so intending to (re)shape the distribution of power in society. It
becomes a technological drama because those for whom the technology is created are not passive.