Journalists as individual users of artificial intelligence: Examining journalists’ “value-motivated use” of ChatGPT and other AI tools within and without the newsroom

Abstract

ChatGPT and other AI applications have made the widespread use of artificial intelligence possible with their conversational interfaces and open accessibility – this “mainstreaming” of AI use has become concerning for news organizations as they grapple with the creation of appropriate AI-related guidelines and tools for their newsrooms. Even while such discussions are ongoing, the cultural shift among journalists has already begun. This paper highlights the role of journalists not simply as agents working within the confines of news organizations, but as actors with individual agency to enact change. Their use of AI has already gained significant momentum, with or without newsroom oversight and direction. This paper, supported by field theory, uses in-depth interviews with journalists and editors to uncover how journalists are themselves using AI in their day-to-day work, and how they ensure their values of “good journalism” are not compromised. Results show that journalists are already personally using AI in numerous tasks across all the stages of news production, namely in news gathering, news writing and presentation, news editing, and news promotion, and have three strategies to maintain their practice of “good journalism”. These results prompt the paper’s proposition of a new “value-motivated use” perspective to summarize journalistic adoption of AI – that it is the journalistic values that motivate their increased use of AI, as well as the values that motivate their limitations of this use; journalists will use the technology only to the extent that it aligns with the values of their profession.