Veritatis Gaudium: Multidisciplinary Journal of Postgraduate Studies

The concept of artificial intelligence is gaining traction in journalism due to its pervasive impact in both theory and practice. This study examines the influence of Artificial Intelligence on literary journalism within the African context. Among other things, the study determined the level of application of Artificial Intelligence for literary journalism in Africa and the implications of Artificial Intelligence usage on literary journalism practice within the African context. The study was anchored on disruptive innovation theory, while an integrative literature review was used as research methodology, where secondary data were reviewed. Findings from the study revealed that the level of application of artificial intelligence tools for literary journalism practice in Africa is at varying levels, mostly at an emerging stage, which is still low compared to its Western counterparts. The study also discovered that AI applications are changing the narrative in African journalism practice from traditional-based journalism to hybrid journalism where AI tools are used to assist journalists in news sourcing, news processing and news dissemination. Be that as it may, the study revealed that the absence and/or non-implementation of ethical guidelines and legal frameworks on the use of AI in journalism practice in Africa is giving rise to privacy concerns among other ethical issues. The study concludes that over-reliance on AI can undermine the creativity and originality of journalists, thereby leading to redundancy. It was recommended that policymakers and media regulatory bodies should come up with an ethical guide and legal framework on the responsible use of AI to mitigate issues bordering on privacy and ethical concerns.

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