Global media wary of generative AI’s trustworthiness: survey

URUMQI, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) — A majority of media organizations worldwide have expressed concerns about the trustworthiness of generative artificial intelligence (AI), according to a recent survey conducted by the think tank under Xinhua News Agency.
The survey, which covered media organizations from 53 countries and regions, was conducted in Chinese, English and French. It is part of the report “Responsibility and Mission of News Media in AI Era,” which was released on Monday during the ongoing sixth World Media Summit in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The survey showed that a staggering 76.4 percent of respondents were concerned about the potential “distortion and misalignment of news leads and materials” when asked about issues they have faced or expect to encounter with generative AI. This figure significantly surpasses the 61.1 percent who cite “copyright and liability issues” as their second major concern.
When considering the impact of generative AI on the media industry’s information trustworthiness over the next three to five years, 36.4 percent of respondents expressed a pessimistic outlook, the survey noted. This figure is 12.3 percentage points higher than the 24.1 percent who were optimistic. Meanwhile, a significant portion — 39.5 percent — remained neutral in their expectations.
Based on the survey, the think tank anticipated that most global media organizations would likely restrict generative AI to a minor supportive role in content production. ■