AI is no match for humans when it comes to investigative writing

At the press forum within the framework of the National Press Festival 2025 in Hanoi , many experts dissected the risks and potential of AI for journalism.

Expert Hoang Nam Tien, Vice Chairman of the Board ofFPT University, pointed out that AI has outstanding capabilities in collecting and processing information. However, Mr. Tien emphasized that AI is absolutely not a match for humans when it comes to conducting investigative articles or articles that can “touch” readers’ emotions.

“AI can synthesize and analyze all sources very well, but it is not curious. With the same number, AI is not curious about why there is that number. That is, AI does not know the problem of cause and effect. AI is very good at imitating creativity, but it does not know how to create,” Mr. Tien affirmed. He considers AI as “an extension of human intelligence,” but it is the depth of thinking, instinctive curiosity, and the ability to connect emotionally that only humans, specifically journalists, can bring.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Dong, Director of the Institute for Policy Studies and Media Development (IPS), said that currently more than 60% of press agencies have applied AI, but mainly stopped at supporting basic operations, such as suggesting titles, summarizing content or checking spelling.

He worries that many newsrooms are still not leveraging AI to solve more important problems, such as personalizing content, analyzing reader behavior, or developing business models. Furthermore, the lack of clear internal policies on the use of AI is fraught with risks.

“Without a comprehensive, systematic and ethical strategy for using AI, Vietnamese journalism will be left behind,” Mr. Dong warned. He suggested that the Vietnam Journalists Association should soon develop a set of rules for the responsible use of AI.

Experts agree that AI will not replace journalists, especially those with critical thinking, curiosity, and investigative skills. However, experts also assert that journalists who know how to apply AI responsibly will become stronger.

To do that, newsrooms need to have a long-term strategy, invest in technology, people and databases, and put ethics and accuracy at the forefront of every AI application.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/ai-khong-phai-la-doi-thu-cua-con-nguoi-khi-viet-bai-dieu-tra-post800328.html