Empathy can help journalists beat AI: President Murmu at Ramnath Goenka Awards

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday noted that AI, which is disrupting the world with opportunities as well as challenges, has entered the field of media too but it can never replace “journalism based on human values”.

“Machines have already started compiling and editing reports. The day might not be far when they would be able to carry out most of the work of journalists. What they lack, however, is empathy, which will be the one ingredient that can help journalists beat AI. Journalism based on human values is not going to be extinct ever,” the President said at the presentation ceremony of the 19th Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards.

Stressing the importance of free and fair journalism for democracy, she noted that if the citizens are not well-informed, the democratic processes lose their very meaning.

The President said that a thriving newsroom full of ideas is essential for the business of news, while highlighting the importance of a research wing to ensure quality and accuracy. She mentioned the Indian Express, the flagship of late Ramnath Goenka’s media group, as exemplary in this regard.

Holding that the soul of journalism must be strengthened in news gathering, she urged media organisations to devote more resources to encouraging the culture of reporting from the ground.

Dwelling on the business models of the media, the President said that earlier, newspapers and magazines sought to offer qualitative reporting and analysis, leading to more sales, thus, meaning a good platform for advertisers, who subsidised the costs, but in recent times, this has been replaced by many hybrid models.

She also flagged the hazard of deep fakes and other misuses of artificial intelligence for which all citizens must be sensitised, especially the young generation.

President Murmu noted that the awards, which “recognise and celebrate the best of our journalism”, also honour the legacy of Ramnath Goenka, the founder of the Indian Express group, and a great icon of Indian media.

“He stood up for the freedom of the press before Independence as well as after Independence. His newspaper refused to buckle during the Emergency. The blank editorial it published became a telling symbol of a free press as well as a sign of hope for the restoration of democratic rights. Goenka-ji’s audacity was guided by the values he must have learned from our freedom movement,” she said.

“For Goenka-ji, the idea of service was not limited to journalism only. His association with the Father of the Nation similarly extended to other activities too,” the President added.

Instituted by the Ramnath Goenka Foundation, the awards, being presented since 2006, honour the best of journalism showcasing 20 outstanding contributions from print, digital and broadcast journalists across 13 categories, including investigative journalism, sports, politics and government, books, features, and regional languages.

IANS