Major Blessing Or Mixed Bag? How Journalists Are Adapting To AI

I recently wrote about AI’s impact on the journalist-profession, prompted by a study that had expert- and public-opinion far apart on a number of AI predictions and concerns, but of similar mind regarding how at risk journalists were.

Now, a different study is suggesting that AI’s negative impact “may be less than feared,” in the words of Press Gazette’s Rob Waugh.

“The research found that journalists are already adopting AI tools in the newsroom, many with encouragement from their employers, but that AI has had no impact on earnings or hours recorded in journalism,” writes Waugh of the study by University of Copenhagen and University of Chicago researchers. “For journalists themselves, using these AI tools appears to be something of a mixed blessing.”

The research paper, entitled “Large Language Models, Small Labor Market Effects,” found that journalists’ job satisfaction from using AI chatbots was the lowest of all occupations studied at 12.6%, with their regard for the improvement of the work quality (39.4%) higher than that of only teachers (32.1%). On that scale, marketers led the way at 69.8%.

“Despite these differences, AI chatbots help save time across all exposed occupations, with time savings reported by 64%–90% of users,” the research says. “Importantly, the benefits from AI chatbots — time savings, quality improvements, creativity, task expansion, and job satisfaction — are all 10%-40% greater when employers encourage their usage.”

(Source: “Large Language Models, Small Labor Market Effects”)

In looking at employer policies, the study found that 43% of employees are explicitly encouraged to use AI chatbots — journalists ranking third on that list, behind marketers and software developers — and another 21% allowed to use them. 38% have their own, often-customized AI chatbots.

“These firm-wide investments are prevalent in all 11 occupations but are particularly widespread in journalism and marketing and more limited in teaching,” the report says. “The widespread investments in AI chatbots at the workplace are consistent with their potential as a general-purpose technology.”