Bots in Newsrooms: What Future for Human Journalists?

Abstract

This study highlights intelligent bots and their uses in journalism and media by looking at the leading global experiences in exploiting this technology within media institutions through integrating the technological determinism theory and, to a lesser extent, the job insecurity theory into the studied context. The study used the Delphi method to anticipate the future effects of artificial intelligence on human journalists’ jobs, based on the opinions of a sample of researchers and experts in the relevant subject that were gathered through personal interviews and other external sources. The information collected from experts, researchers and specialists showed a divergence in opinions between pessimistic and optimistic about what the human job will become after the penetration of AI within media institutions, depending on key indicators with technological, professional, and economic dimensions.