---
title: AI ‘contamination’ fears
description: The bogeyman is distracting us
---

[Media Hunter](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/media-hunter)

# [AI ‘contamination’ fears](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/media-hunter/ai-contamination-fears)

 Written by [Alan Hunter](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/media-hunter/author/alan-hunter) | Feb 14, 2025, 5:00:00 PM

**The bogeyman is distracting us**

One thing I’m not loving this Valentine’s Day is another example of magical thinking in the news media, a subject I dwelt upon in my recent essay [A New Journalism](https://tomorrowspublisher.today/editors-picks/a-new-journalism/). And surprise, surprise, it involves AI.

I had the great privilege yesterday to attend the Media Collective Summit in London, organised by InDigital, Manifesto Growth Architects, Pugpig and Piano. It’s a fantastic, thought-provoking event that attracts some top speakers. It’s held under Chatham House Rules, which is perhaps a good thing, given what I’m about to say.

There was a session on AI and running through it was the idea that journalism risks being “contaminated” by the use of AI. Really?

Let’s get over this idea that journalism is a flawless profession that produces work that should be inscribed in tablets of stone as much as on newsprint or 150gsm.

Most journalists set out to produce the best work they can, but anyone who has spent a day in a newsroom will know that facts can be misinterpreted, angles can be slanted, quotes will be “smoothed out”, annoying anomalies will be edited out.

Often this happens for entirely understandable reasons, not least because the work is being done at pace, but we need to put to bed the idea that our output is universally amazing.

Also, if you think that journalism produced by humans is not already being “contaminated” by AI then think again.

This week my friend and former colleague Sam Joiner wrote an [excellent piece](https://www.ft.com/content/814eee2a-329c-423a-824d-de98aae2886d?accessToken=zwAAAZT5jaC9kdOBTu4qMpxCOtOCTd6YquKIbQ.MEQCIDr4V0tAdC5oDFSoTm6w6psn0BnVN5iS-oFFjWbk7cqpAiA4fZOOQFVQROD2RemRZFk_Xu2jVCesCR1cxgqcFDz9VQ&segmentId=e95a9ae7-622c-6235-5f87-51e412b47e97&shareType=enterprise&shareId=9a3cd711-4fef-4f94-bc41-351825a40256) in the Financial Times about how workplaces are seeing a quiet AI revolution with nearly a quarter of employees using it in their work. More than one in three thought they were doing so without company approval – aka “shadow AI” – because they didn’t see any risks in doing so.

If you think this doesn’t apply to newsrooms and that journalists aren’t routinely using AI to do their jobs quicker, and maybe even better, then I have a bridge that might interest you.

And finally, there’s the assumption that readers will care about how the content they consume is produced. I’m not so sure. I think the vast majority will be squarely focused on how a piece of journalism affects them and care an awful lot less about what goes into the process.

Do they care that journalists check facts on Wikipedia, that they use quotes from wire services, that pictures were taken by agencies? No, they don’t. They care if the story is useful to them.

Providing them with that value should be the industry’s focus and is in truth the way to deal with the undoubtedly huge challenge that is the AI revolution.

Elsewhere, we saw great interest this week in the emerging art of answer engine optimisation and the travails of the Swedish media industry. Read on below.

[View full post](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/media-hunter/ai-contamination-fears)

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