I had the fantastic opportunity to discuss the future of AI for journalists with Peter Bittner at The Upgrade!
🎙️Interview: Futurist Sylvia Gallusser
Sylvia Gallusser is a global futurist and CEO of Silicon Humanism.
Note: This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Peter: I understand you’ve studied economics and business and are an entrepreneur. Can you share more about your background?
Sylvia: Certainly! My journey began in Europe, where my initial curiosity in journalism led me to business school with a focus on media management. I worked in both public radio and television in France and consulted for private television, including Canal Plus, through Accenture. This was around 20 years ago. An incredible opportunity arose to move abroad and work as a media analyst for the French Embassy, focusing on emerging new media platforms like MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube around 2005-2006, which were quite new at the time. What was initially a two-year contract in San Francisco was extended as I married someone studying at Berkeley, which is a story in itself. I remained in the city, working in international trade and startup mentoring for almost 15 years.
Peter: How did you first get involved in futurism?
Sylvia: I noticed a trend where businesses primarily focused on short-term investments, often not looking beyond two to three years due to funding cycles. This sparked my interest in exploring long-term visions and realigning founders with their missions. Consequently, I delved into the field of strategic foresight and futurism, becoming a certified professional futurist through the Institute for the Future (IFTF) in Palo Alto. Over the years, I’ve worked with various groups, including the Grey Swing Guild, and founded my own company, Silicon Humanism. My work primarily revolves around examining the long-term impacts of new technologies, with a focus on timeframes extending from five to 30 years.
Peter: The scope of your work extends far beyond what’s typical in corporate strategies and the news cycle, which are often short-sighted. Can you share more about the certification process and how one can become a futurist?
Sylvia: The path to becoming a futurist is more accessible today than it was a few years ago. There are formal education routes, such as foresight programs in universities across the globe, including Houston, the University of Manoa in Hawaii, and Copenhagen. Alternatively, professionals with backgrounds in design, economics, or management consulting can pivot to futurism as a second career. This usually involves obtaining a certification and joining the vibrant community of futurists. After my career in startup mentoring, I pursued certification through IFTF’s online course on Coursera and participated in their in-person workshops. These programs are excellent gateways into professional future thinking.
Peter: As a futurist, how do you view the generative AI revolution, especially its impact on the media landscape?
Sylvia: Experiencing the generative AI revolution is both exhilarating and daunting for futurists. This era, much like the start of the pandemic, thrusts us into rapid adaptation and deep analysis of its implications on society, business, and personal spheres. The pace at which generative AI evolves presents a daily challenge, introducing new technologies, business models, legal issues, and regulatory frameworks. This revolution is comprehensive, affecting every layer of society and requiring a multifaceted understanding. As futurists, we’re tasked with deciphering these changes, looking at the social, technological, political, ethical, and environmental impacts. It’s a vast, complex web of developments that we’re trying to grasp and interpret for long-term forecasts.
To navigate this complexity, futurists like me rely on identifying “signals of the future” amid the cacophony of daily news. These signals are pivotal events or trends that hint at larger, more significant shifts on the horizon. Generative AI, with its rapid advancements and widespread implications, has become a central focus of our work. Every day, we sift through an avalanche of information to pinpoint these signals, aiming to discern which developments have the potential to shape the future significantly. This process is crucial for understanding the broader implications of generative AI, helping us forecast its long-term impact amidst the ongoing deluge of information.
Peter: Can you share any specific signals or trends that stand out to you in this AI transformation?
Sylvia: The release of ChatGPT in November 2022 was a watershed moment, signaling the shift of generative AI from a niche research interest to a mainstream tool. This democratization of AI technologies marked the beginning of what I consider the true revolution. Before ChatGPT, generative AI was largely confined to tech labs and startups. Its public release made it accessible to everyone, changing the game by putting powerful AI tools in the hands of users worldwide. This event exemplified a clear signal of the future, indicating a new era of interaction between humans and AI. Reflecting on it, the launch of ChatGPT stands out as a pivotal moment that brought generative AI into the spotlight, signaling the start of widespread adoption and integration into daily life.
Another significant signal is the evolution of job roles and market dynamics in response to AI advancements. For instance, the emergence of high-paying positions like prompt engineers highlights the market’s rapid adjustment to new technologies. Similarly, the creation of AI-specific executive roles reflects organizational shifts towards integrating AI into strategic planning. These job market trends indicate a broader transformation where AI is not just displacing traditional roles but also creating new opportunities and challenges. The media’s evolving stance on AI, from initial resistance to strategic incorporation, exemplifies this shift. These developments are crucial signals, revealing how generative AI is reshaping industries, labor markets, and societal norms. They provide valuable insights into the ongoing revolution, underscoring the need to understand and adapt to these changes.
Peter: How might journalism be transformed by generative AI?
Sylvia: The advent of generative AI is set to revolutionize journalism and the creative industries in profound ways. On one hand, it offers the potential for innovation in content creation, enabling journalists and creators to produce new types of content, enhance their productivity, and significantly reduce operational costs. This technological leap could allow media outlets to focus on high-quality investigative journalism by automating routine reporting and data analysis, thus freeing up valuable human resources for more complex and nuanced storytelling. However, the introduction of generative AI into journalism is not without its challenges. The technology raises important questions about the integrity of information, the authenticity of content, and the ethical implications of AI-generated news. As journalists begin to rely more on AI for content creation, there is a critical need to address issues such as misinformation, deepfakes, and the erosion of public trust in media. These concerns highlight the delicate balance that must be struck between embracing technological advancements and safeguarding the core values of journalism.
Furthermore, the impact of generative AI on journalism extends beyond content creation to fundamentally alter the industry’s dynamics, including copyright, bias, and the relationship with the audience. The use of AI-generated content necessitates a reevaluation of copyright laws and the acknowledgment of AI’s role in the creative process, posing questions about authorship and the ownership of AI-generated work. Additionally, there’s the risk of perpetuating existing biases through AI algorithms, which could influence the narratives and perspectives presented in the news. This underscores the importance of critical engagement with AI technologies, ensuring they are used in a manner that reflects ethical standards and promotes diversity and inclusivity. The evolution of journalism in the age of generative AI also requires a shift in leadership and organizational culture, as media companies must adapt to these new tools. The role of editors and supervisors is evolving, necessitating a new set of skills to manage AI-augmented newsrooms effectively. This transformation offers an opportunity to redefine journalism, making it more resilient, innovative, and attuned to the complexities of the modern world. As we navigate this transition, it’s imperative to maintain a dialogue about the ethical use of AI in journalism, ensuring that technology enhances rather than undermines the pursuit of truth and the public’s trust in media.
Read the full interview here.
I loved investigating the future of media and news, and AI ethics applied to the journalistic profession. The Upgrade has become my source number one on everything Journalism in the AI age.
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