Is Artificial Intelligence Causing Journalists to “Deskill”? Exploring Journalistic Deskilling/Upskilling in the AI Age

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly used by journalists in news production, the question of whether this causes journalists to “deskill” becomes paramount. This paper discovers the core skills that journalists risk losing and the areas in which they must upskill to remain relevant in the AI age. Referencing the theory of disruptive innovation that may lead to struggles within the journalistic field, this study highlights the disruptive power of AI as “cognitive automation” and the potential harms it might cause to journalism as professional identity, institution and practice. Through in-depth interviews with journalists and editors, this paper reveals skills lost in research, writing, note-taking, analyzing, interviewing and independent thinking, and points to the importance of upskilling in the areas of fact-checking, discernment, stylistic writing, personal branding, prompt writing, editing, interpersonal communication, storytelling, mastery of AI, ethical use of AI, and original ideation. These findings reveal an urgent need for journalists to mindfully limit their reliance on AI, while also highlighting that journalism is more than an accumulation of technical skills; it should be accompanied by a moral compass which journalists must not lose, so that the “humanness” of journalism may be retained even in the AI age.