By Flata Kavinga
The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) says it is conducting nationwide workshops to capacitate media practitioners on the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the technology continues to shape the journalism landscape.
ZMC executive secretary Godwin Phiri said the workshops were aimed at helping journalists and media organisations understand how AI can be used to improve efficiency, enhance news production and better serve audiences while maintaining professional standards.
Speaking to The Public Eye on the sidelines of a ZMC workshop on the application of AI in journalism and the use of local languages in Kwekwe, Phiri said the media industry should embrace AI rather than resist technological changes.
“The Zimbabwe Media Commission is undertaking a series of workshops across the country meant to capacitate our media practitioners on how to ethically use AI to enhance their work, to increase efficiency and effectiveness,” Phiri said.
He said AI had become part of the media environment and journalists needed to develop strategies to take advantage of available technologies while ensuring ethical practice.
“We are cognisant of the fact that AI is now with us and we are saying let us not resist AI. Let us find strategic ways as the media of taking advantage of AI to improve the way in which we work, produce news better and serve our audiences in a much better way,” he said.
Phiri said the Kwekwe workshop was part of a broader programme being rolled out across the country, with more training sessions planned to reach as many media practitioners as possible.
He also said the commission was working on a media sustainability conference that would bring together stakeholders to discuss ways of strengthening the viability of the media sector.
Phiri said the media industry was facing challenges, including declining revenues and rising operational costs, which required stakeholders to explore new business models.
“We are cognisant of the fact that our media is struggling currently with issues of dwindling revenues and overhead costs that are rising. We want to find ways in which we can develop new business models which will enable our media to survive,” he said.
He warned that a weakened media sector could affect society’s access to information, adding that sustainable media was important for an informed public.
“If we let our media die, we are also letting our society die because societies that do not have access to information are also closed, dying societies,” Phiri said.
He said there was a need to create an environment where the media could thrive, survive and continue serving communities.
