Session
Organizer 1: Civil Society, African Group
Organizer 2: Private Sector, African Group
Speaker 1: WINNIE KAMAU, Civil Society, African Group
Speaker 2: Peterking Quaye, Civil Society, African Group
Speaker 3: Wisdom Kwasi Donkor, Civil Society, African Group
Classroom
Duration (minutes): 60
Format description: The classroom format is best suited for this session as it provides a structured yet interactive environment for exploring the complex relationship between AI and journalism in Africa. This setup allows for expert-led presentations while fostering direct engagement with participants. Journalists, AI developers, policymakers, and media stakeholders can engage in guided discussions, addressing concerns such as misinformation, algorithmic bias, and newsroom resilience. The format encourages knowledge exchange and best practices by enabling participants to take notes, ask questions, and contribute their perspectives. It also supports practical outcomes, allowing for breakout discussions, policy recommendations, and live demonstrations of AI tools in journalism. With a 60- minute duration, the session ensures sufficient time for expert insights, interactive debates, and audience-driven discussions.
Policy Questions: 1. How can African newsrooms ensure digital trust and transparency while integrating AI into journalism, considering the risks of misinformation, bias, and editorial control? 2. What policies and governance frameworks are needed to balance AI-driven innovation in African media with the protection of journalistic integrity and press freedom? 3. How can Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) support ethical AI adoption in African journalism, ensuring local language accessibility, fact-checking, and resilience against AI-generated disinformation?
What will participants gain from attending this session? Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of AI’s impact on African newsrooms, exploring both its benefits such as automation, fact-checking, and audience engagement and its risks, including misinformation, bias, and job displacement. Through diverse perspectives from journalists, media executives, AI developers, and policymakers, participants will learn about best practices for building digital trust and newsroom resilience in the AI era. The session will provide practical insights on ensuring editorial transparency, mitigating AI-driven misinformation (e.g., deepfakes), and leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for ethical AI adoption in African journalism. Additionally, participants will leave with actionable strategies and tools, including policy recommendations, ethical AI frameworks, and newsroom training approaches that can help media organizations navigate AI’s challenges while maintaining credibility and trust.
Description:
As AI transforms newsrooms across Africa, it brings both opportunities and challenges. While AI enhances content creation, fact-checking, and audience engagement, it also raises concerns about misinformation, editorial transparency, and job displacement. This session, aligned with the “Building Digital Trust and Resilience” subtheme, will explore how African media can harness AI responsibly while ensuring trust and credibility. Through interactive discussions, real-world case studies, and diverse perspectives from journalists, tech innovators, and policymakers, the session will highlight best practices for integrating AI in newsrooms. Key focus areas include combatting AI-driven misinformation, ensuring editorial oversight, and leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for ethical AI adoption. Participants will gain insights into strategies for strengthening newsroom resilience, upholding journalistic integrity, and fostering public trust in AI-powered reporting.
Increased Awareness & Best Practices: • Participants will gain a clearer understanding of how AI is transforming African newsrooms, including both its benefits and challenges. • The session will highlight best practices for using AI ethically in journalism while maintaining digital trust and newsroom resilience. 2. Policy Recommendations & Frameworks: • The discussion will contribute to policy recommendations on AI governance in journalism, emphasizing transparency, accountability, and media freedom in Africa. • Insights will help shape guidelines for responsible AI use in newsrooms, particularly in mitigating misinformation and algorithmic bias. 3. Collaboration & Follow-up Initiatives: • The session aims to foster cross-sector collaboration among journalists, AI developers, policymakers, and civil society. • It could lead to follow-up workshops, research publications, or capacity-building initiatives focused on AI in African journalism. • Potential integration with Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) efforts to support ethical AI adoption in African media.
Hybrid Format: A dedicated online moderator will ensure remote participants can engage fully by monitoring the virtual chat, relaying questions to speakers, and facilitating online discussions. • A rotating Q&A system will alternate between onsite and online attendees to ensure diverse voices are heard. • I interactive questions will be used to gather real-time input from both physical and virtual audiences. • The classroom format will be structured to allow seamless engagement, with clear audio and video connections for remote participants. • Panelists will address both in-person and virtual audiences directly, ensuring balanced engagement. • Breakout discussions (using virtual rooms and in-person groups) will allow deeper engagement on key topics. Complementary Online Tools • Social media engagement (e.g., a dedicated hashtag) to encourage broader participation.