Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the media sector. Media companies are investing in it and integrating it systematically into their editorial processes, seeing AI as a tool that enhances both efficiency and innovation.
Päivi Maijanen, associate professor at LUT Business School, notes that AI is gradually evolving into a core strategic capability within organisations.
“However, the situation is challenging because the media environment has been turbulent and uncertain for a long time. The rapid development of AI has only deepened that uncertainty. Strategic management is currently juggling investment decisions, experimentation, and the pace of technological change,” says Maijanen, who has studied the role of AI in media for several years.
From early on, media organisations have also worked to define principles for the responsible use of AI.
“In journalism, new skills are becoming essential. Understanding the possibilities and limitations of AI – AI literacy – is increasingly important. Editorial judgement, critical thinking, and ethical reflection remain central, because even when AI supports content production, humans ultimately retain responsibility.”
AI adoption starts with individuals but requires active leadership
In many newsrooms, AI adoption began with enthusiastic grassroots experimentation. Journalists started testing tools in their daily work and, in doing so, gained valuable insights into where AI genuinely creates value.
According to Maijanen, this bottom‑up dynamic differs from earlier digital transformations in media. For example, the move to online news was driven more clearly from the top through strategic decisions.
From a leadership perspective, the role of frontline managers and team leaders has been crucial in this transition.
“How quickly teams adopted AI often depended on how actively their managers encouraged experimentation, shared experiences, and supported learning.”
Media’s use of AI will also be examined in LUT Business School’s new research project “AI strategy as part of local media’s everyday work: Case Media Company Keskisuomalainen”, launching in early April with funding from the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation. The project examines how a large, complex media organisation can build sustainable and responsible AI capability.
The study looks at how AI strategies affect everyday editorial practices and what opportunities and challenges the transformation creates for local media.
“Some organisations offered general training sessions early on, but these weren’t always effective. Tasks, workflows, and skill needs vary widely between editorial teams, so one‑size‑fits‑all training doesn’t work. One of the central leadership challenges is how to support staff flexibly while recognising the differing needs of individuals and teams.”
Does AI simply reinforce the user’s existing worldview?
In newsrooms, generative AI is most visible in routine tasks. It is used for transcribing interviews, writing summaries, generating headline ideas, reviewing background material, and searching through large document collections.
In investigative journalism, AI can help identify patterns in large amounts of data. For instance, Yle has developed a tool for regional newsrooms that helps detect key decisions across documents from more than 300 municipalities.
“Using AI to produce sports results or other routine news is often seen as acceptable, but applying it to more complex societal issues is considered more problematic,” Maijanen explains.
Generative AI has sparked ethical debate about where the boundaries lie and how far AI can be used without jeopardising public trust in journalism. The critical question is how deeply AI is embedded in editorial processes.
“Ethical questions also arise around content personalisation. AI can help recommend content that matches user interests and improves the experience. Some journalists worry that strong personalisation may deepen polarisation and reinforce filter bubbles, where people mainly encounter content that confirms their own views.”
This could weaken the sense of shared reality and influence public discourse – and ultimately democratic processes.
“Media trust is also a central theme at the upcoming international media conference hosted by LUT Business School on the Lappeenranta campus in May. The theme, ‘“Media Protecting Democracy and Building Trust in a Divided and Fragmented World”, is extremely timely,” conference chair Maijanen points out.
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