Australian Consulate Helps Bali-Nusra Journalists Strengthen AI Capabilities
Denpasar (ANTARA) - The Australian Consulate General in Bali is assisting journalists from Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, and East Nusa Tenggara to strengthen their capabilities in using artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
Australian Consul for Public Diplomacy in Bali, Lachlan Norton, in Denpasar on Friday, conveyed their support through this journalistic workshop, which aims to enable the media to strengthen democracy and help combat fake news or hoaxes.
“It is very important for those working in the media to understand the capabilities of AI tools and how to interact with them ethically,” said Consul Norton, reading a speech on behalf of the Australian Consul General in Bali, Jo Stevens.
Through this workshop, the Australian Government seeks to address issues arising from the impact of AI so that the media sector can grow strong, professional, and sustainable in Indonesia.
In this event, the Australian Consulate General collaborated with the Denpasar Independent Journalists’ Alliance (AJI), inviting two expert speakers: senior reporter and member of the AJI Indonesia Advisory and Legislative Board, Ika Ningtyas, and academic as well as creative media influencer in Bali, Anak Agung Ngurah Bagus Kesuma Yudha.
The workshop, titled AI-Based Digital Transformation for Media Practitioners, had 21 participants from Bali, NTB, and NTT.
It is hoped that in this third edition of the workshop, the capabilities of Bali-Nusra journalists will improve further. Australia is proud to support the development of a strong and professional media sector in Indonesia and across the Indo-Pacific.
“I hope the participants enjoy this workshop and find the discussions beneficial, and that what they have learned will support professional development in the regional media sector,” said Norton.
One of the speakers, Member of the AJI Indonesia Advisory and Legislative Board Ika Ningtyas, highlighted ethics and the role of journalists amid AI developments.
Regarding ethics, she reminded that the journalistic code of ethics regulated by the Press Council should serve as the foundation, such as news must not be false, must be independent, and obtain consent for data.
Even if a journalistic work requires AI analysis assistance, human control is needed for double-checking because AI translation results often risk bias and discrimination.
“We must not hand over to raw AI results; there is editorial responsibility, and the editorial team should also create internal guidelines on how to use AI,” she said.
However, besides journalistic ethics, as hoped by the Australian Consulate General, Ika Ningtyas reminded that the most important thing often overlooked in artificial intelligence developments is the role of journalists.
According to her, besides utilising AI responsibly, the most important task for journalists should be to monitor AI’s impacts on society.
“The role of journalists here is to monitor AI’s impacts on society, how the government regulates AI, for example in Bali how, don’t just think it’s an innovation when AI is used, it might not necessarily be, so don’t just focus on its usage,” said Ika Ningtyas.