Report: The Media Industry’s Adaptation Under the AI Wave

“Embracing AI is not an optional choice, nor merely a supplementary question; it is an imperative that concerns the media’s existence and identity.” On December 19, during the 2024 China Newspaper Media Industry Artificial Intelligence Application Conference, Li Yun, the secretary of the Party Committee and president of Shanghai Media Group, remarked during her keynote speech.

The future is already here. The impact of AI on the media industry is “visibly significant,” and all media outlets are facing a major test titled “Adaptation.” This conference has created a valuable platform for learning and exchange, where media representatives from across the country gathered in Shanghai, sharing both excitement and confusion about new technologies.

**Practice: Reshaping Media Content Production with AI**
According to the “Report on the Responsibilities and Missions of News in the New Era of Artificial Intelligence,” published by the National High-end Think Tank Research Group of Xinhua News Agency in October 2024, currently, 10.2% of media worldwide have established corresponding mechanisms to integrate AI into production processes, while 41% are actively exploring AI technology applications and encouraging the integration of AI into certain news business sectors.

During his speech, Ming Lizhi, Executive Vice Chairman of the China Newspaper Association and former Vice Secretary-General and Director of the News Bureau of the Publicity Department, shared these statistics, highlighting the increasingly widespread application of AI technologies in the global media industry, which is becoming a critical force for content innovation and industry transformation.

As a “local practice” of the national media integration development strategy, Shanghai Media Group has developed over the past 11 years into a leading model for the transformation of new mainstream media in China. Currently, Shanghai Media Group is building an AI platform to achieve deep integration of AI technology across the entire chain, including creative planning, content production, content distribution, data analysis, and commercial applications.

From The Paper’s “Deriving All Things” to Shangguan News’s “News Magic Pen” and Interface Finance’s “Financial Leap Model”… The involvement of generative AI is reshaping content production in media. Li Yun emphasized that the group aims to become the media entity that understands technology the best, enabling cultural media and technology to empower each other in a mutually beneficial way. In light of the new wave of systematic transformation, she also discussed the “conceptual changes,” “practical changes,” and “future changes” in media under the AI tide.

Clearly, mainstream media are actively engaging in practices and responding positively, with an increasing number of models emerging. During the conference, the China Newspaper Association launched relevant case studies on “Artificial Intelligence and Media Integration,” and The Paper signed a strategic cooperation agreement with MiniMax Technology on-site, officially commencing their partnership.

From a technological perspective, Yan Junjie, founder of MiniMax, believes that as long as the pace of AI technological advancement is sufficiently rapid, it will inevitably reach a very high level, resulting in higher quality content under correct human utilization.

**Exploration: Innovating AI Application Scenarios in Media**
Many media professionals harbor a question: Does AI empowerment in the media industry only pertain to content production? If not, how can more application scenarios be discovered?

During a discussion segment at the conference, Zhang Zhian, a professor at Fudan University and Chairman of the Application Journalism and Communication Committee of the Chinese Journalism History Society, raised this question. He argued that, in addition to focusing on production, attention should also be paid to AI’s empowerment in distribution and interaction scenarios. Media organizations must consider not only their own production and efficiency improvement but also the impact of AI on the content ecosystem industry, including platform ecology.

This viewpoint was validated on site: The Xiaohongshu platform presented a keynote sharing. Xu Lei, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of Xiaohongshu, discussed how a growing community “uses technology as a pen” to reap the benefits of enhanced product experiences through technology.

Xu noted that the volume of information on the internet is enormous, and reliance on manual efforts for effective distribution is no longer feasible; hence algorithms have emerged. Personalized recommendation algorithms may not be the optimal solution, but they currently represent a relatively feasible and effective method. Xiaohongshu believes that algorithms can embody values, as they encourage more ordinary individuals to participate in content sharing, thus forming a decentralized distribution mechanism that benefits traffic.

In the intelligent media era, platformization of media is also a future trend, with news media becoming a multi-faceted entity encompassing communication medium, technological carrier, and commercial capital. Zhang Zhian stressed that continuously finding scenarios within AI applications, including open collaboration scenarios, could be key to media creativity. He cites Interface Finance’s “Financial Leap Model” as a case indicating that in the vertical financial sector, the initial step involves developing financial systems and data applications for business-to-business (B2B) interactions, with the subsequent focus potentially shifting to business-to-consumer (B2C) financial literacy application scenarios.

During the roundtable discussion, several media leaders expressed changes in media management and operations stemming from AI, stating that besides altering content production methods, management and operational processes are also evolving. AI represents not only a form of productive force but also signifies a shift in productive relations, leading to changes in organizational structures, production processes, and review protocols. AI can effectively address issues such as insufficient personnel, missing links, and inefficiencies in production.

**Embracing: Utilizing Technology While Returning to Professionalism**
When discussing AI, opportunities and challenges are always present. For the media industry, the tension surrounding “journalistic authenticity” remains ever-present, prompting media professionals to maintain a cautious attitude towards AI’s involvement.

“Controllability” is a term frequently mentioned in discussions regarding generative AI technologies. Liang Changjie, chief editor of the People’s Daily client, shared three current keywords related to new media practices: “controllable, knowable, and feasible,” with “controllable” at the forefront. For mainstream media, “content is either flawless or fundamentally flawed.” Liang asserted that in the realm of AIGC, the safety of content creation is a red line that mainstream media must uphold, regardless of the future advancements of AI.

What attitude should media professionals adopt in light of AI’s disruptive tide?

Wang Zikai, chief engineer of the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, advocated for maintaining an open mindset and sensitivity to new technologies. Yang Haijun, chief engineer of the Shanghai Municipal Internet Information Office, proposed twelve characters: actively embrace, seek stability, and pursue innovation. Liu Yonggang, president and editor-in-chief of The Paper, affirmed, “We must not merely remain on the sidelines; we must embrace it.”

Ultimately, technology is a means, whereas content remains the eternal core for media. Liu pointed out that no matter how advanced technology becomes, it will eventually evolve into infrastructure. Mainstream media should not compete with all creators based on quantity but rather focus on the supply of core content, emphasizing a transition from being “broad and comprehensive” to being “specialized and profound,” effectively leading mainstream values.

“We cannot self-sabotage our efforts to excel at AI,” Liang Changjie stressed the importance of professional content’s value. For mainstream media to maintain an unbeatable position in future development, it is crucial to return to the essence of media itself. Current news reporting, exclusive reports, unique perspectives, profound insights, and on-site content are elements that AI cannot replicate and are truly what audiences require from the media; therefore, they must not be overlooked.

The intellectual clash at this conference marks a key point in the integration and development of AI and media. Zhang Zhian believes it “should be a milestone.” The path to the era of intelligent media is long, and the exploration of AI in the media industry is fraught with challenges. This conference was not merely a “gathering” but a “new beginning.”