AI holds immense potential for Africa’s media industry – President Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged the African media to capitalise on the opportunity and work efficiency inherent in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to drive growth in the industry.

He noted that the use of AI in news collection and dissemination had an unprecedented impact on the media environment and encouraged it to be used responsibly.

“AI holds immense potential for the media industry,” the President told a gathering of some eminent journalists at the closing session of the Third African Media Convention (AMC), which was hosted in Accra, Ghana.

He said the media had its reputation and integrity to protect in the line of duty.

President Akufo-Addo warned that AI should not be used for the wrong reasons so that it does not become “a source of evil,” and that utilizing AI to generate fake information and other unhealthy practices should not be accepted.

He said Journalists were expected to be mindful of ethical norms to build public trust as they tried to educate and inform society.

The three-day Convention brought together media experts, scholars, journalists’ unions and associations, editors, policymakers, as well as cooperating partners from around the African continent, UNESCO, and African Union (AU) Commission.

It discussed the emerging technologies in the media landscape, advancing best practices amid the fast-evolving news industry and creating new revenue opportunities through partnerships.

The key highlights related to the state of the media in Africa, Artificial Intelligence, and its impact on new media, bringing the newsroom into the business of news, and revenue and innovation-winning ideas for sustainability and growth.

The African Media Convention is currently the largest gathering of media stakeholders and policymakers on the continent.

It is an initiative of the African Editors’ Forum (TAEF) designed to safeguard the hard-won media freedoms and safety of journalists on the continent.

The maiden edition was held in Arusha, Tanzania, in 2022.

President Akufo-Addo emphasized the importance of environmental sustainability and urged the media to promote education to raise awareness among the public.

He emphasized the need to raise public awareness to build an environmentally sustainable culture because the health of the environment is tied to humanity’s overall development and growth.

He drew attention to the need to expose the public to emerging environmental issues, such as climate change and its impact on global development, saying this should be at the heart of contemporary media practice.

Mr Churchill Otieno, President of the African Editors’ Forum, said the Convention enabled the participants to assess and discuss the situation of the right to press freedom on the continent, identifying areas where journalists faced repression, violence, or censorship.

It also strengthened ties between different actors, such as the media and civil society organisations as well as international bodies, to work together to promote and protect the right to press freedom.

More importantly, the Convention highlighted the importance of truthful and accurate information, particularly that which condemns and investigates the environmental crisis and its effects.