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Qingtao Liu. (2025). Generative AI and Journalism Ethics: Controversies over ChatGPT. Journal of Information, Technology and Policy, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.62836/jitp.2025.346

Generative AI and Journalism Ethics: Controversies over ChatGPT

The rise of generative artificial intelligence is reshaping the model of news production. While it enhances the efficiency of content output, it also raises profound ethical concerns. Technological tools can rapidly generate standardized news texts, but the mechanized production model may result in a loss of in-depth thinking and value judgment in news reporting, and could even lead to the creation of false or misleading content in the pursuit of traffic benefits. The core contradictions manifest in three aspects: first, the probabilistic nature of algorithm-generated content conflicts with the fundamental requirement for news accuracy, as the phenomenon of hallucination in language models may present fabricated information as fact; second, the ambiguity in assigning responsibility in human-machine collaboration makes it difficult to trace accountability when misinformation spreads; third, media organizations commonly face a transparency paradox, where the covert use of AI tools not only undermines the public’s right to know but also exacerbates the trust crisis.

generative artificial intelligence; news production; transparency; ethical dilemmas

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Supporting Agencies

  1. Funding: This research received no external funding.