Media practitioners have been encouraged to embrace self-learning to quickly adapt to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to enhance their work.Associate Professor of Practice at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at The American University in Cairo, Professor Nadine El Sayed, who gave the advice, said that rather than view AI as a threat to the profession, journalists should see it as a significant opportunity to revolutionise their work.She was addressing journalists during a one-day workshop at the university, held as part of a three-week training course organised by the Union of African Journalists (UAJ) in partnership with Egypt's Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR).The annual programme, which this year hosted 22 selected journalists from 12 African countries, aims to build the capacities of African journalists, equip them with new skills, and provide a platform to network and exchange ideas on how best to tell the African story.Citing a 2023 survey on "JournalismAI" conducted by the London School of Economics and Political Science, which covered 105 newsrooms across 46 African countries, Prof.
El Sayed noted the slow adoption of AI in African newsrooms and called for accelerated efforts to bridge the gap."Self-learning is the best approach right now, and there are many free resources available through initiatives like the Google News Initiative, Knight Foundation, and Thomson Reuters Foundation.If the news organisations we work with cannot provide training, we need to take the initiative to build our own skills.
Just start, and you'll get the hang of it," she advised.Prof.
El Sayed, who is also an Associate Chair of the Department, dismissed fears that AI could render journalism obsolete, saying; "I don't think AI can replace journalism.
