Guwahati: Gauhati University has organised a day-long workshop on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in journalism, bringing together working journalists from around 18 media organisations across Assam.
The workshop was organised by the Department of Communication and Journalism as part of its Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Vice-Chancellor Prof. Nani Gopal Mahanta inaugurated the programme and stressed that journalists should use AI as a supporting tool while maintaining professional ethics and values.
Dr Debanga Raj Neog, Assistant Professor at the Mehta Family School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, IIT Guwahati, attended the workshop as the key resource person.
During the sessions, Dr Neog explained how AI tools are being used in daily journalistic work. He discussed the benefits of AI as well as concerns related to bias, transparency and ethical use.
He also stressed the need to cross-check information generated by AI before publishing it. He explained the FATE model, which stands for Fairness, Accountability, Transparency and Ethics, as an important guide for the responsible use of AI in journalism.
Dr Neog also discussed how writing clear and effective prompts can help journalists get better results from AI tools.
Prof. Ankuran Dutta, Head of the Department of Communication and Journalism, highlighted the need to organise more such programmes to help news organisations develop clear guidelines for using AI responsibly. He also expressed the need for future workshops on related topics to improve journalists’ understanding of emerging technologies.
The programme also saw the signing of a Letter of Agreement between the Department of Communication and Journalism, Gauhati University, and the Public Relations and Communication Cell of Aaranyak.
The event was attended by Vice-Chancellor Prof. Nani Gopal Mahanta, Aaranyak CEO Bibhav Kumar Talukdar, Publicity Secretary Bijay Sankar Bora, Prof. Ram Mohan Pathak of Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, and senior journalist and department faculty member Mrinal Talukdar.
The agreement is expected to create new opportunities for cooperation between the two institutions.
The workshop also featured the release of Introduction to Digital Media, written by Dr Chandan Kumar Goswami, Assistant Professor, and Dr Zakirul Alam, Teaching Associate, of the department.
The programme concluded with a presentation on data journalism by Nishanta Sharma, Teaching Associate, followed by an interactive question-and-answer session.
The workshop aimed to improve journalists’ understanding of AI and encourage its responsible use in newsrooms.
