Translation: On September 27 and 28, the Media Literacy THE AI TIMES – Application of Artificial Intelligence to journalism took place on the Webex platform, organized by Luiss Data Lab within the European project Media Futures. The event featured two meetings with journalists, academics, and international researchers to discuss the dual connection between the future of journalism and Artificial Intelligence.
In front of a young audience of students and school teachers, director Gianni Riotta moderated a series of scientifically and informatively interesting presentations. Elena Musi, Assistant Professor in Media and Communication at the University of Liverpool, showcased the Fake News Immunity Chatbot, a tool developed to protect users from online disinformation. GPT-3, software capable of automatically composing articles, stories, and poems, was presented by Computer Science Professor Giuseppe Italiano, followed by a demonstration by postdoctoral researcher Debasish Pattanayak. Vladimir Alexeev, a digital experience specialist, demonstrated the expressive potential offered by the collaboration between artists and AI.
The importance of advertising for digital media was discussed by Cristina Alaimo, Assistant Professor in Digital Economy and Society at Luiss Guido Carli, and statistician Vieri del Panta, with a presentation on statistical studies about consumer tastes.
Disinformation was a central theme of the discussion: Repubblica's Deputy Director, Carlo Bonini, explained how competition dynamics among journalistic outlets, especially online, influence the quality of information. Journalist Francesca Paci (La Stampa) contextualized the issue of fake news in some international news and political events, such as the Arab Spring and the Giulio Regeni case.
Andrea Nicolai, CEO of T6-Ecosystems, presented the IDMO (Italian Digital Media Observatory) project, an Italian hub of EDMO at the forefront of the fight against fake news. Luiss Data Lab coordinates a consortium formed by Rai, Tim, Gedi Gruppo editoriale, Pagella Politica, T6 Ecosystem, Università di Tor Vergata, and NewsGuard. Lorenzo Federico, Data Scientist at Luiss Data Lab, presented the Mappa dei Migranti, created in collaboration with Catchy and Kode, which reports data on over 8,000 dramatic events in the Mediterranean and the main migration routes. Finally, Costanza Sciubba Caniglia, special editor at Harvard Misinformation Review, answered audience questions, explaining the political-economic reasons behind disinformation.
We take this opportunity to thank all the participants in the Media Literacy THE AI TIMES, especially the students, teachers, and professors of the G. Garibaldi classical high school in Palermo. Thanks also to the Press Office of the National Association of Headteachers for their support in disseminating the event. Given the significant participation in Media Literacy and the importance of the issues addressed, we publish here the complete recordings of the two meetings.