新聞機器人為誰「勞動」？自動化新聞學引入新聞產製的影響及論述

Whom Are News Bots “Laboring” for? Effects of Automated Journalism on Journalists

隨著人工智慧與演算法等科技興起，新聞機器人等自動化新聞學正逐步發展。本文整理當前自動化新聞學引入產製過程的狀況，透過批判政治經濟學視角，將自動化新聞學置於新聞史脈絡，探討新聞機器人可能如何影響新聞勞動過程。接著援引資方宰制勞工意識形態的「製造共識」概念，爬梳自動化新聞學如何改寫或接合傳統客觀新聞學，而得以在新聞場域中取得合法性。本研究以臺灣與中國的媒體相關報導為對象，進行初步論述分析發現，兩地媒體都強調新科技引入勞動過程為大勢所趨的「科技中心論」，不過在勞動與專業層面上，發展新聞機器人較積極的中國媒體，比臺灣論述更傾向正面表述其影響。經由此一前瞻議題的反思，本文檢視自動化新聞學發展的潛在衝擊，並指出引入新科技所須關注的議題。

 

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence and algorithms, news bots and automated journalism have been introduced in news production, which has reshaped journalistic work since the mid-2010s. First, this paper describes the process of and the difficulties involved in introducing news bots into newsrooms in various countries. Second, the effects of automated journalism on journalistic labor, such as the effects on the skills, jobs, and autonomy in journalism, are examined from the perspective of the critical political economy of communication through labor process theory. Furthermore, this study presents how the discourse of automated journalism has been dominating or negotiating with traditional journalistic principles, such as objectivity and credibility. A discourse analysis on the differences between Taiwanese and Chinese related news articles shows that media representations in China, where media organizations enthusiastically introduce the automated journalism into the newsroom, are more inclined to emphasize the positive effects of news bots on journalists work and quality of news reports. In summary, this paper suggests a critical rethinking of news bots and automated journalism according to a review of various viewpoints and theories regarding the aforementioned emerging technologies.