There are things that are now possible that never were before. For instance, in the 1980s, who could have imagined that we’d be able to talk with loved ones hundreds of miles away and see them at the same time through FaceTime and other video chats? Who’d have thought that people would no longer get their local news from a print paper, and, instead, would often rely on what they see inside a tiny screen as the truth?
The internet and social media are wonderful in many ways, but at the same time, they can be dangerously untrustworthy. For various reasons, it’s become common to question whether or not journalists are telling the truth and lately, even if the photos we print and post online have been doctored or were created with AI.
While we do use AI to create an editorial cartoon once in a while to make it hyper local, that is the only aspect of this paper that is not authentically done by our staff. The AI cartoons allow us to customize the characters and settings to look like local figures and places, which is a fun tool to have, since not many of us are artistically inclined. It’s not ideal, but it works.
However, when it comes to actual photos and content, our staff creates it all, only editing photos to make them lighter and more print-ready, or cropping them to take out a large swath of sky or pavement that is not needed to tell the story. We are fallible humans who sometimes make mistakes. But one mistake we will never make is to let a computer do our work for us.
It is disheartening to see social media comments that ask if we’ve doctored a certain photo or intentionally left something out of a story. In more cases than not, it is a simple human error or oversight. Like we said, we’re not perfect. But we are committed to our craft, and that is telling local stories, sharing photos of events, and keeping the public informed of the goings-on within local government.
We’re not sure when exactly it started, but the growing distrust of the news media is a troubling sign of the times. True, there are some news sources out there that are incredibly biased, leaning toward one political spectrum or another, but we can assure you, The Sampson Independent is not, and has never been, one of those outlets. It’s in our name, after all — independent.
AI is just another part of life these days. Have a question about something you’ve seen? Type it in Google, and AI will give you a concise explanation, with more information than you probably bargained for. And, one needs only to visit social media to see that AI is now the artist of choice on many organization and church flyers for upcoming events. That’s all well and good. We figure, like most of us, they are not artistically inclined.
But maybe ask a student or a friend who is artistic what they could create for you. We guarantee it will look better and be more factual and accurate than an AI-generated image.
Of course, it is a losing battle, we know. More and more facets of everyday life are being taken over by AI and computers every day. While AI has its uses, 99 percent of the time, the real thing is better in every way.