Abstract

With the promise of AI, the use of emerging technologies in journalism has gained momentum. However, the question of how such technologies can be interwoven with newsroom practices, values, routines, and socio-cultural experiences is often neglected. This article investigates the ways in which AI-driven tools are permeating newswork and design strategies for blending technological capabilities with editorial requirements. We followed a multi-method approach to investigate the deployment of AI in news production at two London newsrooms: (1) a design ethnography at the BBC with journalists and technologists, and (2) interviews with journalists at The Times.

Our findings show that while journalists are generally open to try AI-driven technologies that benefit their work, technologists struggle to integrate them into journalistic workflows. The consensus was that human judgement is required to make complex decisions in journalism and that journalistic values should be prioritised in AI tool design. We claim that AI tools need to fit with professional practices and values in journalism in order to be fully accepted as an editorial tool. Embedding new technologies into journalistic workflows requires therefore a close collaboration between journalists and technologists, and a sociotechnical design that blends in work routines and values.

摘要

凭借人工智能的前景，新兴技术在新闻业的使用势头强劲。然而，这些技术如何与新闻编辑室的实践、价值观、惯例和社会文化体验交织在一起的问题常常被忽视。本文研究了 AI 驱动的工具如何渗透到新闻工作和设计策略中，以将技术能力与编辑要求相结合。我们采用多种方法在伦敦的两个新闻编辑室调查人工智能在新闻制作中的部署：(1) BBC 的记者和技术人员设计民族志，以及 (2) 采访时报记者。

我们的研究结果表明，虽然记者通常愿意尝试有益于他们工作的 AI 驱动技术，但技术人员很难将它们整合到新闻工作流程中。共识是，在新闻业做出复杂的决定需要人类的判断，而在人工智能工具设计中，新闻价值应该被优先考虑。我们声称人工智能工具需要符合新闻业的专业实践和价值观，才能被完全接受为编辑工具。因此，将新技术嵌入新闻工作流程需要记者和技术专家之间的密切合作，以及融入工作惯例和价值观的社会技术设计。