“Journalist[s] are people who tell people what happens to people”,  Eugenio Scalfari, founder of La Repubblica, once said. Believe it or not, the same principle applies to artificial intelligence (AI). More specifically, to reporting on AI: no matter how technical or difficult to grasp this field may seem, at the end of the day, it all comes down to telling people what happens to people thanks to –or because of– AI. The good news is you do not need to understand every single technical detail or be a specialized reporter to write about AI’s impact in your community. Curiosity and the basics of journalism are enough.

Take a moment to consider your own skills: What is one area where you’ve developed significant expertise—perhaps something others might find arcane? For me, it’s economics. Years of reporting on the subject have taught me the intricate details of how money works, a topic my family and friends often found confusing. I bet you, too, have a beat you know inside out, one that may have once seemed almost impossible to master a few years ago. And yet, here you are!

Money, power, ideology

Reporting on AI is no different. As Karen Hao puts it, the technologies grouped under the term “artificial intelligence” are often promoted by companies with their own interests. She illustrates this with a helpful graph, that summarizes the main motivations behind AI:

Applying Scalfari’s lens (human stories) to these three elements gives you everything you need to begin reporting on AI. I won’t pretend it’s easy: as with your current beat, you’ll need to develop a certain level of expertise, which will not only help you better serve your audience but will also increase your credibility with your sources. But you don’t need a Ph.D. in AI to get started.

Avoid common mistakes

What is crucial, however, is to use your reporting skills to cut through the hype around AI and avoid the most common mistakes when writing about it. Here are a few (credit to the Pulitzer Center’s AI Spotlight Series):

• Accepting AI today as what it is, without questioning why it is this way.
• Referring to AI as one instead of many technologies.
• Quoting business leaders or others with financial ties to the AI industry as “experts” without acknowledging those ties.
• Anthropomorphizing AI as human-like “intelligence”.
• Forgetting that this is a story about people.

While some mistakes are specific to this field (such as anthropomorphizing AI), most are fundamental principles of journalism: questioning the status quo, revealing hidden agendas, exposing conflicts of interest, and sharing people’s stories.

As a Pulitzer Center AI Reporting Coaching grantee (+LINK), I will be training reporters in Europe to report on artificial intelligence from a critical perspective, encouraging them to investigate the real-world implications these technologies have for their communities.

Wondering how your organization can cover AI and remain relevant to your audiences? Let’s talk!