PHOTO OF THE DAY: BOOM, BLAST, HISTORY
This photo, taken during the fireworks display at the conclusion of Freeman’s Independence Day celebration held July 6, is featured on the cover of this week’s Courier. It was one of more than 600 similar images made by photographer Jeremy Waltner, who in addition to Freeman’s celebration, covered the big Fourth of July parade in Menno.
Watch for a photo gallery from both celebrations sometime Wednesday.
Also, here’s a column written by the photographer.
The murky waters made by AI
One of the emerging topics of discussion in the world of journalism — as is the case in many other professions — is how to use Artificial Intelligence, known more widely as, simply, AI.
The computer-generated network of information that can be used to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence is having a sweeping impact on the way work is being done, from how things are written, to how things look, to how science is being applied to various systems. AI is still relatively new but has already proven to be one of the biggest and most rapidly developing technological advancements in human history.
It’s exciting because it can — and will — have a positive impact on areas big and small, from medical research to note-taking and data organization. It’s also unsettling because it can — and does — compromise what is real and what is simulated. Are the words in a story created by a human being or a computer? Are images that appear in publications like The Courier made by photographers or robots? In other words, is what you’re reading or seeing actually real?
That’s why I included a qualifier that accompanies the photo on the front page of this week’s issue — that fireworks shot captured Sunday night, July 6, as booms and blasts brought a close to what was a long and fun Independence Day weekend in our communities. Yes, the image was made by me and my camera and is in no way manipulated.
The use of AI was part of the conversation as I and about 80 others who are involved with the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors gathered last week on the campus of South Dakota State University in Brookings for the group’s annual summer conference, and it should have been. Because ethics and integrity are at the core of journalism, there is some trepidation when it comes to using a large language model like AI for our work. The results that platforms like ChatGPT, or Google’s Gemini, produce are remarkably accurate, but not always 100%. When you take the human out of the equation, so go the checks and balances that accountability provides.
Misuse of AI-generated images is even more frightening. Technology now allows photos and graphics to be manipulated in ways never seen — passed off as if they were the real deal.
All of this means the line between fact and fiction will only continue down its confusing and concerning path.
The bottom line for those of us in journalism is that AI can be used as a helpful tool, but never as a replacement for human nuance. That’s absolutely the case here at The Courier. And so I am working on an Artificial Intelligence policy similar to my letters to the editor policy that clearly spells out how this newspaper will use AI and — more importantly — how it will not.
