6th World Media Summit: Industry leaders discuss AI’s potential, ethical implications for journalism’s future

The 6th World Media Summit, which concluded on October 17 in Urumqi, China, brought together global media leaders to discuss the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on journalism.
The application of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) was a central theme, with leaders debating both the opportunities and challenges AI presents to the industry.
A major highlight of the summit was the release of a report titled “Responsibilities and Missions of News Media in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” by Xinhua News Agency’s National High-end Think Tank Research Group.
The report surveyed media organisations across 53 countries and revealed that 10.2% of media outlets have fully integrated AI into their production processes, while 41% are actively exploring its application.
The report identified three main areas where generative AI is being used or considered by media outlets: auxiliary editing (fact-checking, transcription, translation), content creation (generating summaries, charts, and digital anchors), and topic planning (drafting outlines for news coverage).
These tools aim to improve newsroom efficiency without replacing the human creativity essential to in-depth journalism.
Speaking at the summit, Yan Lingsi, Vice President of Reuters Asia Pacific, noted the excitement surrounding AI’s ability to reduce repetitive tasks in newsrooms and enhance journalists’ capabilities through new AI-driven tools.
Beyond newsroom efficiency, the summit also tackled the ethical concerns surrounding AI, particularly the rise of misinformation and disinformation.
To mitigate the risks associated with AI in media, organizations such as Xinhua News Agency, Reuters, BBC, and NPR have introduced AI behavioral guidelines aimed at preserving authenticity.
In 2023, AFP joined forces with major European media organisations to call for clearer identification of AI-generated content, ensuring transparency and helping audiences distinguish between human-generated and AI-generated information.