Having your own journalistic voice amidst a Tsunami of AI generated content

– Barsha Gautam, Member of NFSJ

The Nepal Forum of Science Journalists (NFSJ) organized the third session of the Science Journalism Mentorship Program for beginners from South Asia.

The session was led by Subhra Priyadarshini, Chief editor of Nature India, Board Director of World Federation of Science Journalists. The article is based on reflections from the interactive session by her.

Welcome to an AI Era! But what if AI could be used in a way that elevates our lives rather than eroding it! In a world that believes in smart work rather than hard work, is it really possible to use AI in a way that doesn’t violate the ethics? How much is too much?

Subhra Priyadarshini’s mantra to make our voices unforgettable is

Voice = Identity + Perspective + Trust

AI could be faster but it’s not about being faster. It’s about what is more human! Our voices have identity of its own that AI lacks. It is also the perspective which is something AI can’t give. The perspective here means “will my audience get what I’m trying to say?” Trust adds value to our voices. The erosion of trust while writing from AI is surely something that needs critical attention.

Humanness shall be retained in our writing. It is possible! The tips to maintain humanness in our work includes context, character, craft and conviction.

1) Context: AI lacks recent context. AI could never give the recent issues. The contemporary history to story shall be added by us. Our writing should always link past to present, policy to people and global to local.

2) Character: AI brings same narrative to the table! It is monotone. Sameness in writing comes from AI. We should have substance in our writing. It could be giving our humor, judgement, choices or opinions.

3) Craft: As discussed above, AI is uniform! AI has the risk of uniformity of tone or the uniform approach. AI can’t give pace. We have that power to maintain pace. Depending upon the writing or the story the pace could differ. From moving fast towards conclusion to keeping the suspense as per the story demands is what differs the monotonous writing from our original peace of work. The choice of adding metaphor/simile would be a great option in our writing.

4) Conviction: AI writing says ‘likely’, ‘maybe’, ‘perhaps’, ‘possibly’, etc. We carry our own value. We carry our stance. Bring that in writing. It is something that AI lacks!

The Tools to Harness in writing includes:

• On-site reporting like the real journalists!
• Fact checking and building own sources.
• Using AI as an assistant for templates/transcripts not for the heart of the work.
• Developing a signature style.
• Setting your ethical boundaries. Garn your originality.
•  Elevate your core voice.

During the session Subhra Priyadarshini made us to reflect on a sentence, paragraph or writing that we wrote on our own and AI could never bring that essence! I took a time to think about a recent speech for my introduction to a public speaking club. Please find below how I introduced myself vs what AI gave!

How I gave my own introduction:

Hello everyone. I’m Barsha, but don’t worry, you don’t need an umbrella to get through my speech. However, on 28th of July, 2000, my parents surely needed one! It was the day I was born and it was raining, like cats and dogs. Hence, I was named Barsha! As simple as that.

But you know what hits my mind is thankfully climate change was not at its peak back then, or else I’d be standing here today saying:

Hey everyone it’s गर्मी (meaning summer), Please open the window.
Or
Hello everyone it’s खडेरी (meaning drought) Let’s go out plant trees.

How AI wrote my introduction:

Hello everyone! I’m Barsha. I was born in the year 2000, and I really love my name — it means ‘rain,’ which makes me feel connected to nature. I feel happy and grateful to be born while it was raining, because I’d always prefer rain over no rain. Just like rain brings freshness, I hope to bring positivity and growth into this team.

Let us remember that our own voice is our passport that will take us places. AI is just our assistant not the boss! Take it as a tool not a threat.