Zambia: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) open spaces has launched a study report on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to be used in Zambian newsrooms for effective and efficient service delivery for the media industry.
United States Agency for International Development Zambia democracy rights and Governance Office Director Meral Karan says artificial intelligence is of paramount importance to the media.
Speaking during the launch of Artificial Intelligence in Lusaka, Karan said AI is increasingly taking centre stage in societies and must be adopted in Zambian newsrooms for effective news gathering and processing.
She disclosed that the findings of the report show that 60 per cent of the Journalists interviewed are using AI tools such as chatGPT and Otter as well as an AI meeting note taker.
Karan observed that there is no denying that AI tools save time by generating news faster and automating fact-checking, thereby improving efficiency in most newsrooms.
She has, however, noted that as AI is being promoted in most newsrooms, there is a need to understand that the same tools come with risks and unreliable or biased information.
Karan added that the use of AI must also be done through the lens of the human rights approach, as it can lead to significant harm to individuals and communities.
Internews Chief of the party, Teldah Mawarire, stated that the launched report covered and sampled many Journalists during the research period.
She reiterated that AI is beneficial to the media as it touches on almost all sectors of the economy and that there is a need for collaboration between the media and government in the promotion of AI. AI is a tool or computer system able to perform tasks that require human intelligence.
Nowadays, AI is in trend worldwide. Everybody wants to try and use Artificial Intelligence.