The President of Innovation Media Consulting Group, Juan Senor, says the news industry must innovate with a human-first approach, especially in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.
He was at the time delivering the keynote address at the launch of the Caribbean Media Summit, hosted at the University of Guyana campus earlier today.
The two-day event is being hosted by the Media Institute of the Caribbean (MIC), in collaboration with the Guyana Press Association (GPA) and the University of Guyana, under the theme, “Evolving Media Business Models in Turbulent Times.”
“We have to put the human first and last in any process of integrating AI into our work processes, into our research, and some of the products that we can use and reproduce based on our original journalism with these new, fantastic tools that are out there,” Senor said.
The summit is also narrowing in on topics such as diversifying revenue streams, digital transformation, innovation in media, audience engagement techniques, and the evolving dynamic of news content.
MIC President Kiran Maharaj, in delivering remarks, noted that AI is changing the media landscape and brings along risks, though offering powerful tools for automation, data analysis, and audience engagement.
“Enabling the spread of misinformation and threatening the financial vulnerability of independent journalism… information access through AI is a double-edged sword… without robust governance it may erode public trust and the very foundations of our media institutions. This summit truly calls to action. We must advocate for equitable AI governance that prioritises public interest journalism, explores new revenue models that blend innovation with ethical responsibility,” she noted.
President of the GPA and Vice President of the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM), Nazima Raghubir, in her remarks said the central theme of the summit is a very timely one for media in the Caribbean and across the globe, as they face shifts brought about by rapid technological advancements, economic pressures, and changing audience behaviours.
“These factors have significantly impacted how journalism is crafted, and how media houses sustain this. The Guyana Press Association believes that addressing these realities require a consorted collaborative and forward-looking approach. As an organisation concerned about the practice of high professional standards of the Guyana media, the GPA recognises the challenges of changed and changing technological and other circumstances on the peak revival of independent media. With traditional revenue streams on decline and new digital platforms constantly reshaping the landscape, media practitioners and institutions must innovate while maintaining their ethical compass and journalistic integrity,” she said.
Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Paloma Mohamed Martin, in her remarks said that while the focus is presently on AI, the issues related to media generally are not only associated with its use.
“They’re associated with social media and the technologies that drive those and the concentration of those channels of communication into the hands of certain people,” she said.
The summit provides an opportunity for dialogue and knowledge sharing amongst stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, including journalists, academics, media owners, and policymakers to engage in solutions.
