Journalists in Nairobi-based Catholic media outlets have lauded the training on effective engagement with Artificial intelligence tools (AI) important for their journalism apostolate in view of maintaining relevance and “competitive”.
In separate interviews with ACI Africa on the sideline of the one-day training on August 7 at the premises of the Pious Society of the Daughters of St. Paul (FSP) in Westlands, Nairobi, participants expressed interest in similar trainings.
The main facilitator, Br. Elias Mokua, a Kenyan member of the Society of Jesus (SJ/Jesuits), told ACI Africa, “There is a lot of work involved in news, from collection to packaging to reception, which calls for the need to embrace AI. AI makes it cheaper, more cost-effective and saves a lot of time in processing information from the source to the audience.”
Br. Mokua added, “We need to be conscious that other players in media and communication are changing. As Catholic media, we can’t simply stay back and wait for the changes to happen; we have to move with everyone else. We must remain relevant and competitive.”
He called upon Catholic journalists to be vigilant while engaging AI tools, and added, “Whatever you generate, whatever you do, make sure that you are in charge; you like the final product, and you own it and have a footprint around it.”
Asked to relate the AI tools and human creativity, including the fears around it, the Kenyan-born SJ member said, “Most of that fear of losing creativity is not founded on experience because, if you work with these tools for a while, you will realize that you are the one still doing the work.”
The tools only help to reduce the time frame of production, he said, adding, “For those of us who have worked with these tools, we have realized that as the user, you still have to create and revise your work. So, journalists still have to exercise a lot of creativity while using these AI tools.”
The Nairobi-based Executive Director of the Proposed Hekima University of the Jesuits went on to caution Catholic Journalists against falling “victims of laziness by leaving the technology to do everything for them.”
The one-day training that attracted 33 participants drawn from the 15 Catholic Media houses in Kenya’s Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi drew inspiration from Pope Francis’ message for World Communications Day (WCD) 2024 that was titled, “Artificial Intelligence and the Wisdom of the Heart: Towards a Fully Human Communication”.
Some of the AI tools discussed included ChatGPT, Invideo, videoscribe, Pinetools, Turboscribe, and capcut.
Also speaking to ACI Africa, the chairperson of the Catholic media houses in Nairobi Archdiocese, Virginia Kabugu, said the training was meant to equip Catholic journalists with skills on engaging AI tools “in their work to evangelize and to tell stories of hope.”
“The turnout was good, and we appreciate the effort from all the Catholic media in Nairobi for sending their representatives. We hope this will improve our work, positively impacting us as Catholic media practitioners,” Mrs. Kabugu said.
The Assistant Editor at Bayard Publications, one of the 15 Catholic media entities operating in Nairobi Archdiocese, said that Catholic journalists cannot avoid AI because the technology is “there to stay” and will keep advancing.
“Let the Catholic media practitioners know that AI is here to stay—it is here with us—and the best thing is to understand how it works so that you may choose whether to use it. You have to understand how to use it positively,” she said.
The various Catholic media houses operational in the Nairobi Archdiocese include Paulines Publications Africa, the National Mirror, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops Communications (KCCB), the Archdiocese of Nairobi, the New People Media Centre, and the Messenger of Mary Immaculate.
