Journalism will exist but AI will automate many of its tasks: Brijesh Singh, DGIPR

Speaking at the AI Conference 2026 organised at the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh, Singh said that in human history, the process of knowledge reaching people changed significantly after the invention of printing technology.

Mumbai: Journalism will continue to exist in the future though many tasks that can be automated will inevitably become automated with Artificial Intelligence, said Brijesh Singh, Principal Secretary and Director General of Information and Public Relations (DGIPR) in the Maharashtra government.

“Even though the use of AI in journalism is increasing rapidly, it is important to remember that AI does not have the ability to understand reality on its own. Since the responsibility of discovering truth and maintaining society’s trust is the core strength of journalism, the role of journalism will become even more important in the age of changing technologies,” said Singh, an IPS officer of the rank of Additional Director General of Police.

Speaking at the AI Conference 2026 organised at the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh, he said that in human history, the process of knowledge reaching people changed significantly after the invention of printing technology.

“Earlier, knowledge was limited to a small section of society, but printing enabled it to reach the masses. Later, the development of mass media further transformed communication. When television started, newspapers felt threatened, and when digital media emerged, television channels felt threatened. However, despite these changes, newspapers have survived. Journalism will continue to exist in the future as well, though many tasks that can be automated will inevitably become automated with AI,” said Singh, who is an expert in cyber issues and also an accomplished writer.

On the use of AI vis-a-vis journalism, he said, “The use of AI in journalism is growing rapidly. In some parts of the world, completely automated “one-man newsrooms” are being developed where tasks such as news gathering, writing, editing, fact-checking, and page layout are carried out with the help of AI. News related to finance, sports, and several other sectors can already be generated in large quantities through automated systems. This indicates that the working style of journalism is undergoing a major transformation.”

“AI will not take away your job, but someone who knows how to use AI may take your job. Therefore, it is extremely important for journalists to learn AI skills,” he said adding that the Directorate General of Information and Public Relations is considering launching a certificate course titled “AI in Journalism” to train journalists in AI tools.

Singh further said that AI is rapidly changing the entire process of knowledge creation, distribution, and usage. While many tasks in journalism are becoming automated and more may become automated in the future, the responsibility of presenting truth will remain with human intelligence. Therefore, although AI may transform journalism, credibility, truthfulness, and editorial responsibility will remain the fundamental principles of journalism, he added.

Singh also stated that AI is enabling real-time, faster, and hyper-personalised news delivery.

“In today’s attention economy, media organisations are presenting content in multiple formats across various platforms to capture audience attention. Some international news organisations create multiple versions of the same news story and send them to different audience groups to analyse which format performs best,” the bureaucrat-police officer said.

“AI is also being used to create real-time content, infographics, and videos. As a result, news content has become “liquid” and constantly evolving. The speed of information dissemination has increased tremendously. Today, with the help of AI, a single individual can generate 20–30 articles a day. However, while the quantity of information has increased, questions about credibility have also become more significant,” he said.

Singh pointed out that one of the major limitations of AI is its understanding of Indian languages.

“Despite technological progress, AI systems still struggle to fully comprehend the context of languages like Marathi. Most large language models are trained on Western sources such as Wikipedia and Reddit, where data related to Indian culture, experiences, and languages is limited. Therefore, developing AI systems specifically for Indian languages and ensuring data sovereignty is essential,” he added.

He also cautioned that AI-based systems sometimes generate incorrect information, known as “hallucinations,” where false references or fabricated details may appear. Such incidents have also occurred in legal cases where AI generated inaccurate citations. Hence, the responsibility for verifying AI-generated content ultimately rests with editors.

According to Singh, the large volume of content being produced through AI is creating what is known as “AI slop” in digital media. As a result, journalism in the future may divide into two segments—mass-produced routine news and high-quality investigative and research-based journalism.