Connect and Reflect: Module 5 (Submission 4)

1 Connect and Reflect: Module 5 (Submission 4) Mount Royal University COMM 4501-003: Roles and Practices in Contemporary Communications Amanda Williams November 4th, 2024 Connect and Reflect: Module 5 (Submission 4) 2 1. How is AI disrupting your communication profession, and what key ethical, political, and social questions should be considered in this context? I believe AI is disrupting my communication profession heavily. Specifically focusing on Broadcast Media Studies, when I first started the program there was no reliance on AI. We relied completely on our skills to write our scripts and edit our projects. Every detail of our projects and assignments was created solely by us, which allowed us to not only learn the skills but also use them and be creative. Amankwah-Amoah et al. (2024) states “The creative industry’s essence lies in human creativity, innovation, and artistic expression” (p. 6). Now, as AI tools have advanced, programs we use to edit our videos or photographs have introduced features that generate content for us. For example, we used to spend hours on Adobe Premiere Pro, perfecting our video assignments down to every detail. Now, the software offers tools that can automatically clip and edit videos for us. This just goes to show how much time consuming and effort requiring tasks could now be completed in just a fraction of the time. This although is helpful at times, it still makes me question the future relevance of the editing skills that I have worked so hard to develop over the past 4 years. Our program is also heavily focused on writing, and now AI can also quickly produce scripts for news shows, radio shows, or even short films, which I see as highly disruptive. These are not just simple tasks, they are real professions that people pursue, and real skills that take time and effort to perfect which are all now being overshadowed by AI tools and technology. It is definitely changing how we create content. We are using AI more and more to help or even take over parts of our creative work, which is absolutely worrying in terms of being original and being creative. These are the skills that we are supposed to use in our future careers so it leaves me worried questioning what this means for my career. Will there even be jobs left 3 for us when technology and AI can do so much? The article also mentions that “Changes, disruptions, and transformations in the creative industries will likely affect economies and societies significantly” (Amankwah-Amoah et al., 2024, p. 1). This is something my friends and I discuss often. Many of us chose this field because we love being creative and telling stories. But now we are wondering if there will even be enough jobs for all of us when we graduate. Will our unique voices and perspectives still be valued in the workplace? If machines can create videos or write scripts, what will that mean in terms of our roles as storytellers? I think the key ethical question that should be considered in this context is how the rise of AI specifically in communication professions impacts trust within workplaces and projects that we work on. How are we making sure that the work people are doing is genuinely original and shows personal skills and creativity? How do we know if someone is contributing their own ideas or simply relying on technology? The key political questions that should be considered are about spreading false information and fake news. For example, in a class we discussed how AI can now create realistic fake videos of politicians saying things that they never actually did. I remember even coming across some of these on Tiktok and being shocked at how convincing they were and it made me wonder, how will people know what is real anymore? Even the generation of fake news articles or social posts. In the past, creating large scale disinformation campaigns took a lot of time and people. But now, AI could potentially do it much faster and cheaper. So, if people can not trust what they see and read online, how will they make good decisions about for example who to vote for or what policies to support? The article specifically reflects on these issues by mentioning how “we witnessed in 2023 writers and actors going on 4 strike… over the use of AI by studios in a battle to preserve human creativity” (AmankwahAmoah et al., 2024, p. 1). This depicts just how serious these issues have become. 2. Are there areas within your CSL project where AI could potentially be used? If so, why or why not? What ethical dilemmas might arise from these decisions, and how would you address these issues with your community partner? I definitely believe AI could potentially be used in various areas of our CSL project, such as creating the recipe cards, brochures, conducting research and editing videos. There are hundreds of websites and softwares of AI now that can take on several tasks from creating graphic designs, to short video edits and just regular AI for writing. Within our CSL project, there are recipe cards and brochures being made, research being done and videos being created. AI can honestly be used in all of these aspects. It can be used to write the recipe cards and brochures, do research and also somehow create and edit the videos. However, I think it is crucial to ensure that we as a group are not relying on AI to do the work for us. Our community partner is most likely expecting authentic, creative work that reflects our own skills and knowledge, rather than AI-generated content. Amankwah-Amoah et al. ( 2024) mentions that “the successful adoption of generative AI in the creative industries lies in finding the delicate balance between maintaining human ingenuity and reaping the benefits of technological innovation” (p. 1). Using AI could most definitely compromise the authenticity and trust in our work which is why I believe it is a topic for our team to discuss and set boundaries on especially to make sure we are not losing that human touch which is what makes creative work special. We should also talk to our community partner about any ethical concerns that they might have, such as transparency in how our material is created to make sure that everyone is comfortable with our 5 approach. This will help us make better choices and avoid handling any challenges that come up with integrating AI content within our work. 6 References Amankwah-Amoah, J., Abdalla, S., Mogaji, E., Elbanna, A., & Dwivedi, Y. K. (2024). The impending disruption of creative industries by generative AI: Opportunities, challenges, and research agenda. International Journal of Information Management, 102759. https://librarysearch.mtroyal.ca/permalink/01MTROYAL_INST/1qa1aqk/ cdi_elsevier_sciencedirect_doi_10_1016_j_ijinfomgt_2024_102759