Americans predict the rise of AI won’t be kind to the news they get — or to journalists
Are you a journalist who worries that the rise of AI will be bad for your profession? The Pew Research Center wants you to know you’re not alone — your audience worries about it, too.
A new Pew report out today finds Americans doubtful that AI advances will create better news — or more jobs for journalists.
Roughly half of U.S. adults say that AI will have a very (24%) or somewhat (26%) negative impact on the news people get in the U.S. over the next 20 years. Just 10% say it will have a very (2%) or somewhat (8%) positive effect, according to a summer 2024 Pew Research Center survey.About a quarter (23%) say AI’s impact in this area will be equally positive and negative. Another 16% say they are not sure.
It turns out that even Americans who are confident that AI would have an overall positive impact on American life are skeptical about its impact on news. And its impact on news jobs? It’s like a whole nation of reply guys telling you to “Learn to code.”
Looking at the impact on the news industry, 59% of Americans say AI will lead to fewer jobs for journalists in the next two decades. Only 5% say AI will produce more journalism jobs. Others say AI won’t make much difference (17%) or that they are unsure (19%).
It’s interesting to look at the survey’s topline numbers, which asked about a number of other professions too. Even though 59% of those surveyed see journalism jobs falling, that’s less than the 67% who say the same for factory workers or the 73% who say it for cashiers. Other job-decline predictions: 43% for teachers, 45% for musicians, and 48% for software engineers.1 The jobs Americans consider least at risk to AI? Lawyers (23%), doctors (28%), and mental health therapists (29%).
Can an AI outperform a journalist today at writing a news story? Slightly better news here: 41% say no versus only 19% who say yes. (20% say they’d fare about the same, and 20% are self-aware enough to say they’re not sure.)
- So maybe don’t learn to code?
Related Knowledge Center: Artificial intelligence
On top of a failing business model, newsrooms must navigate the powerful — and not fully reliable — new capabilities of artificial intelligence and the deployment of large language models.
State of the business model | Copyright and intellectual property
Related Knowledge Center: State of the business model
The traditional journalism business model has long since collapsed, and news organizations have shrunk or disappeared entirely. While a number of promising experiments are under way, the public has not shown a willingness to buy what news organizations are selling.