By Jana Ibrahim

Artificial Intelligence is currently helping reporters craft better and timelier stories, with an emphasis on what interests individual readers, Bloomberg news’ editor-in-chief told American University of Sharjah students during an April 11, 2019 visit to the media organization’s newsroom.

Speaking to an audience including 19 AUS journalism students, John Micklethwait emphasized that while some fear A/I will eliminate journalism jobs in future, it is currently creating a more personalized news reading experience. But he cautioned that alongside such individualized material, it is important for news platforms to incorporate a range of materials informed readers should be aware of.

In his one-hour lecture, Micklethwait said A/I is not only making readers feel their news feed was written for them, but is also helping reporters verify, analyze and relate information to past events.

According to Micklethwait, these technologies bring in the data—sometimes in seconds—but it is up to the journalist whether to publish it or not.

The lecture ended with a Q&A session. Afterwards, the company’s staff members took the students for a tour around the offices, where they met two AUS alumni who currently work for Bloomberg.

At AUS, students can pursue a journalism concentration through the Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication program. The Department of Mass Communication also offers a minor in journalism.

Jana Ibrahim is a senior student at American University of Sharjah pursuing Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication with a concentration in journalism.