‘Digitisation of soft skills’ will play a vital role in the re-skilling needed for Artificial Intelligence journalism

The Artificial Intelligence journalism era offers humanity new opportunities and challenges to build and adapt to new skills.  Whilst hard skills have been mastered, it is imperative for media communicators to acquire and practice “digitisation of soft skills”. These digital soft-skills will enable communicator to leverage Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to democratise their unique message.

We have upgraded and digitised our hard-skills using technologies that enable the media industry to search, create, distribute, and measure communication effectively. The future of Artificial Intelligence journalism and Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies offer us, as individuals and as a collective humanity, an opportunity and challenge to digitise our soft skills, in the way we prioritise, communicate, and ‘empathise’ our messages.

Also, Artificial Intelligence journalism will provide us with an opportunity and challenge, to democratise the role of communicator — where, everyone and anyone, can transmit their messages to a global community.

AI journalism media communicators cannot rely on the old ways to secure information, or ignore the new 4IR tools such as: Robots, the Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Virtual Reality, Open Data platforms, Big Data,  Blockchained of News, Robotization of Marketing, 3D Printing and other new technologies provided  by  the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Five years from now, over one-third of skills (35%) that are considered important in today’s workforce will have changed. By 2020, the Fourth Industrial Revolution will have brought us advanced robotics and autonomous transport, artificial intelligence and machine learning, advanced materials, biotechnology and genomics. These developments will transform the way we live, and the way we work. Some jobs will disappear, others will grow and jobs that don’t even exist today will become commonplace. What is certain is that the future workforce will need to align its skillset to keep pace, according to WAF report.

AI Journalism and Virtual Reality: For example, Virtual Reality technologies can be used extensively in Artificial Intelligence journalism to allow AI Journalism media communicators to know more accurately about the target audience, and can visualize the imaginations and the expected behaviours towards goods or services, which greatly enhances creating of the best marketing strategies adapting with the Robotization of Marketing.

The concept of applying Virtual Reality to news and video-related content, will enhance the quality of content and make it easier to reach to the target audience, where we can create 3D video news characters, that will allow interaction between the real world and fictional characters.

According to the report, the global augmented and Virtual Reality market generated $11.32 billion in 2017, and is expected to reach $571.42 billion by 2025, registering a CAGR of 63.3% from 2018 to 2025. The report provides detailed analyses of the top winning strategies, market share & estimations, driving factors & opportunities, key market segments, and competitive landscape.

Virtual Reality news story can be attractive to the main target audience, especially in the future challenges facing the world. For example; if we have Virtual Reality feature about the risks of climate change to the environment and people in the year 2030, we can show some of the dangers that will hit the world in case of global warming, extreme weather, bumper crops and crop failure, and polar cap melting. That will raise the level of awareness, empathy for events occurring in the world and create an effective feedback.

Media Communicator skills: AI Journalism media communicators must have extensive knowledge and experience of:

Creative writing skills, that are compatible with the new skilled and intelligence audience, who have many options and tools, such as robots or artificial intelligence technologies. Continuous talent development of media communicators in selecting the right tools and adapting in a way that suits the target audience and delivering the required content. Media big players should provide various training courses on the fourth industrial revolution technologies and how it can be used in designing the future of artificial intelligence journalism.

 Upgrading new tools for artificial intelligence journalism, and applying them within media companies and universities.