by Xinhua writer Chen Wangqi
BEIJING, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- As artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming every stage of news production, human journalists must retain control over editorial decisions, AFP Chairman Fabrice Fries said Saturday.
On the sidelines of the 7th World Media Summit, Fries told Xinhua that he uses AI every day and finds it "helpful" in facilitating his work, but he does not delegate all decisions to the technology.
"I want to remain in control," he said.
Though AI tools can help journalists prepare for interviews, organize information, and edit videos, they cannot be on the ground asking questions, build trust with sources, or decide whether a story is newsworthy, he said.
"It's a tool, very efficient tool, but it's not a substitute," Fries said. "In the end, it's the journalist that decides, that verifies, and that publishes. This remains the prerogative of the journalist."
On whether AI can help verify misinformation like suspected deepfake videos, Fries said the technology can certainly help, but human oversight and judgment remain indispensable.
"That's what we do at AFP: when we do a fact check, even if we use some software that proves that this is a deepfake, in the end, there must always be a judgment by your journalist and a decision by you, human," he said.
"Our policy is that our journalism can be assisted by AI, but we cannot generate content with AI," he added. "By and large, again, it's up to the journalists to decide to verify, to publish."
The ongoing World Media Summit offers a "valuable" platform for journalists "to have a discussion amongst our peers in the sector, because we are all facing a revolution," Fries said.
Pointing to the rapid development of AI tools, he noted that OpenAI reached 100 million users within two months and now has more than 1 billion weekly active users.
DeepSeek and other tools have also contributed to an "unprecedented" pace of change, he said, calling on news agencies to embrace "a lot of new thinking and adaptation." ■
