The study “How (not to) Run an AI Project in Investigative Journalism” by Marina Fridman, Roy Krøvel, and Fabrizio Palumbo, all from Oslo Metropolitan University looked at the challenges and obstacles of integrating AI into the newsroom and how to overcome them.

Artificial intelligence, AI, is a field of computer science aimed at developing ‘intelligent’ machines that can replicate tasks that have traditionally required human intervention. In journalism, it has generated healthy debate and interest, with the most techno-optimist (or journalism-pessimist) voices even wondering whether machines will replace humans as journalists.

This study is concerned with the use of AI in investigative journalism, where the need for AI tools has become increasingly vital with the explosion of data and the advent of digital technology. It draws insights from four interdisciplinary teams of investigative journalists, journalism researchers and data scientists working on projects.

The authors used an alternative methodology, practice-based research. They collaborated with the Norwegian Association for Investigative Journalism, SKUP. They published calls to assist investigative journalists on projects and ended up with four projects for a period of 6 months in 2021, and three additional projects in 2022.

The four projects of 2021 covered exploration reimbursement scheme in petroleum industry, adverse events in elderly care, eating disorders in professional skiers, and a media landscape analysis. 

Based on the results, the authors make several recommendations. One is that it would be crucial to move beyond interdisciplinary projects into truly trans-disciplinary projects, where knowledge and skills from multiple disciplines would be utilized. They recommend prioritizing projects with well-stated research questions and clear hypotheses. Also, current and future research should be privileged, as historical data can be incomplete or missing.

The article “How (not to) Run an AI Project in Investigative Journalism” by Marina Fridman, Roy Krøvel, and Fabrizio Palumbo is in  Journalism Practice. (open access).

Picture: Untitled by Scott Graham

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