Columbia World Projects hosted a panel with international experts called “Journalism and Democracy in an AI World” this past Thursday in conjunction with both Bollinger Convenings and the Saving Journalism Conference.

On Thursday, October 24, Columbia World Projects sponsored the keynote event of the Saving Journalism Conference: the final panel in the Bollinger Convenings series about the role of AI and journalism in shaping democracy.

Columbia World Projects (CWP) combines the University’s resources with “governments, organizations, businesses and community to tackle global challenges.” Wafaa el Sadr, the Executive Vice President of Columbia Global, the parent organization of CWP, provided opening remarks to a packed audience. 

This event was moderated by Senior Lecturer and Director of the Technology, Media, and Communications Specialization Anya Schiffrin. She mentioned that during the COVID-19 pandemic, scholars began writing reports called “Saving Journalism” after global inspiration. They also started to host various Zoom sessions where people from around the world were welcomed to join and collaborate on how to regulate technology and protect journalism. After discovering just how profound this need was, Schiffrin applied for a grant through Bollinger Convenings, an endowed fund that will be used to showcase creations that provide knowledge and inspire collaborations across academics.

The panelists included Lee C. Bollinger, President Emeritus and Seth Low Professor at Columbia University; Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, United Nations; Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Former Prime Minister of Iceland; Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economics and Columbia University Economics Professor; and Churchill Otieno, the President of the Africa Editors Forum. Through the diverse array of perspectives, attendees could understand how AI played a role in economics, government organization, and global politics.

Schiffrin began to ask the panelists each of their thoughts on the upcoming 2024 presidential election and how we see social media and AI transforming it. Jakobsdóttir replied that even people in Iceland were thinking about this particular concept, suggesting that the issue extends beyond the U.S. She mentioned her experience in government and that throughout those years, she saw how new technology transformed elections. Social media platforms such as Facebook, and more notably, Tiktok, have become dominant in political affairs. 

However, she began to mention that political debate is becoming more about entertainment and less about authentic journalism. Otieno added that when it comes to the reporting of election results, editors have concluded that especially in Kenya and other African countries, individuals who are well-resourced are able to “decide their own truths” and impose those on the greater populace, which can lead to violence. However, he conceded that many African nations have bigger worries than controlling social media, such as war. 

Fleming was asked what the United Nations is doing in response to this. She mentioned that as social media companies prioritized revenue, it came at the expense of credible news, causing a crisis of fake news. Consequently, they have tried to work on policy documents that are able to offer more positive digital environments.

In particular, the panelists discussed how social media companies wanted to be perceived on the same level as traditional media—for example, the New York Times—but were not subject to the same regulations. As a result, misinformation and disinformation were allowed to disseminate without ramifications.

Later, when the panelists were discussing free-speech, they mentioned that AI bots are subject to the same autonomy on social media as we humans are. Additionally, they perused over how they thought social media would be democratizing because it gave everyone an equal platform to share their opinions. However, this ended up not being the case, as it was taken over by AI bots and without ample regulation. The panelists viewed this takeover as censorship.

Bollinger and his colleagues proposed solutions to this issue of regulation by suggesting that the companies form a self-regulation board, among other things, so that these corporations hold themselves up to the standards listed in their guidelines.

Fleming then asked Jakobsdóttir about Iceland’s own approaches to AI, collaboration, and any of the other challenges they have faced. She said that the country has invested heavily in the Language Technology Programme and its infrastructure. According to Almannarómur, the country’s center for language technology, this is to ensure that the Icelandic language “will be used in communication with—and through—digital devices and computers.” Additionally, Iceland has instituted the EU’s rules on content regulation to sustain a more credible and positive environment online.

At the end, however, Jakobsdóttir noted the absolute importance of maintaining solidarity in real journalism. AI isn’t able to replicate our voices and unique experiences, and it lacks the authenticity that we seek in journalism.

The event concluded by answering audience-submitted questions as well as asking Bollinger, a proponent of free speech, on his opinions about free speech on Columbia’s campus over the past year. He emphasized that at some points, free speech can become dangerous, especially when expressed over social media and in the context of exposing specific individuals’ private information—an act that has been increasingly occurring in this election cycle. As a consequence, according to Bollinger, one person’s freedom of speech can severely harm or even take away another’s.

While this was the last of the Bollinger Convenings at the Forum series for 2024, the Saving Journalism Conference is still ongoing, although the two events open to the public have already concluded.

Panelists via Bwog Staff