The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on journalism must be urgently addressed.
That is the challenge issued by the Media Institute of the Caribbean (MIC) in its address to mark World Press Freedom Day 2025 today.
In a statement, the organisation said it was underscoring the urgent need to address the transformative impact of AI on journalism, “emphasising the Caribbean’s unique challenges of media viability, misinformation and natural disasters”.
Under the global theme Reporting In The Brave New World – The Impact Of Artificial Intelligence On Press Freedom And The Media, the MIC called for regional collaboration to harness AI’s potential while safeguarding democratic discourse.
“AI is reshaping journalism globally, but its implications are acute in the Caribbean, where media ecosystems face structural vulnerabilities. While AI tools offer opportunities for automated reporting, data analysis and audience engagement, they also risk deepening existing inequities.
“Caribbean newsrooms are already strained by shrinking advertising revenues. It is noteworthy that between 15 and 25 per cent of such revenues are diverted to platforms like Meta and Google Ads),” the group stated.
The MIC said there also exist fragile economies to which the need to grapple with AI-driven content saturation can be added, and the algorithmic curation on social media threatened to marginalised smaller journalistic enterprises further, as free, AI-generated content competes with costly, human-produced news.
“Media viability remains a pressing concern in the Caribbean, where outlets grapple with limited advertising revenues, small market sizes and economic vulnerabilities,” the statement read.
Kiran Maharaj, MIC president, said AI could democratise information access but, without guardrails, it might erode the financial sustainability of Caribbean media.
“We must advocate for equitable AI governance that prioritises public interest journalism. The Caribbean is not immune to AI-fuelled misinformation, which exacerbates social divisions and undermines trust in institutions,” she said.
Wesley Gibbings, MIC vice president, added: “Caribbean media must adopt AI-driven verification tools and invest in digital literacy programmes. Our survival depends on retaining public trust through accuracy and transparency.” (AC/PR)
