The eSafety Commissioner has decided to drop the case against X, after the platform’s refusal to takedown the Sydney church stabbing video. The platform had, however, blocked the video in Australia, though users have still been able to easily access the video using a VPN.
But now that the legal challenge will be abandoned, does that mean the platform is free to host graphic material, such as stabbing videos? According to Derek, the battle is not over yet, as another aspect of this dispute will be heard by the Administrative Appeal Tribunal, and X recently suffered a loss in a separate matter concerning vilification that was heard by a tribunal in Queensland.
Then, there is the recent content deal between OpenAI and News Corp, which many critics argue is short-sighted. In this issue, Kieran also questions whether such agreements can indeed sustain digital journalism, but more importantly, he asks if there are “more ‘strategic’ business models available in the face of AI?”
I have other concerns, which are beyond economic models: the whiteness of AI.
Through deals between AI companies and predominantly western mainstream media, will the public be sold the same old stereotypes in new forms?
I am interested in the fair and accurate representation of communities on the peripheries of society, and the incorporation of their voice in the media not only through a white perspective, but also through agency and self-determination. It is one way to promote social cohesion, which is in Australia’s national interest. There is an ocean of evidence that the western media have failed communities that are already oppressed, under-represented and pushed to the margins. This is further compounded by the AI companies’ dependence on the same media (which most people no longer fully trust) to supplement knowledge creation and curation. AI is supposed to make journalism better for all, and its impact must not be limited to financial gains for big media companies. This is not solely a technological or regulatory issue. This is a real social problem, like racism – speaking of which got ABC’s Laura Tingle a lot of attention over the past two weeks, including from News Corp.
In his piece, Sacha writes about journalism’s bitter-sweet relation with impartiality in the context of criticism that Tingle received for calling Australia a racist country at the Sydney Writers’ Festival. Among other things, he also refers to the ABC’s Editorial Policies that are, in my opinion, quite vague about the application of Standards to activities and content produced by the ABC staff in a personal capacity.
Ayesha Jehangir, CMT Postdoctoral Fellow