What risks does artificial intelligence pose for journalism?

Abstract

As in many other realities of human endeavor, the expectations of generative artificial intelligence with respect to journalism are divided between optimism, apprehension and distrust. The risk of manipulation of news and creation of fake news is greater due to the massification of issuers, bots, botnets and social network accounts that disseminate false content, a situation that is aggravated when unwary users bounce them without verifying their veracity or origin. In political campaigns and events of great media reach, false or partially falsified news proliferate, leaving most audiences in a state of disinformation that can border on hopelessness or fear and that does not allow them to make appropriate decisions, as happened with anti-vaccine campaigns during the pandemic of Covid-19 or populist politicians who propagate hate narratives to gain followers.