How AI is changing the way we get information, the study

The Reuters Institute in Oxford has published its annual study on digital information . The results are quite interesting. More and more people are using ChatGPT and similar to get information, instead of reading newspapers and news sites. A trend that worries the media, but also hides some surprises.

Researchers interviewed 97,000 people in 48 countries. 7% use AI to inform themselves every week. It may not seem like much, but when looking at young people the numbers change: 12% of those under 35 and even 15% of those under 25. The most common uses? Summarizing articles that are too long (27%), translating news from abroad (24%), getting advice on what to read (21%) and better understanding complicated current affairs topics (18%).

For those working in the media, this scenario is not reassuring. If people get information directly from ChatGPT without visiting websites, it means less traffic and less advertising revenue.

But the study also brings good news for journalists . Most of those interviewed remain skeptical about using AI to inform themselves. People still prefer human work and fear that algorithms are less transparent and reliable. And they have their reasons. Artificial intelligence, although it improves day by day, continues to invent information out of thin air and makes huge mistakes. The famous “ hallucinations ” of AI are not yet a thing of the past.

The report also confirms what has been seen for years. Television, radio and paper newspapers are losing ground to social networks and video platforms. Politicians know this well and are increasingly skipping traditional interviews to speak directly through TikTok, YouTube and various influencers. In this way they avoid uncomfortable questions, but the price is paid by the quality of public information.

The game is still open

AI is becoming a new filter between news and those who read it . It hasn't replaced journalists, but it is changing the way many people access information. Now the media faces a choice: adapt to this new scenario or be left out. The good news is that people still trust human work more than machines (for now). Ball in the center.