The ABU Legal Committee in collaboration with the ABU Media Academy hosted a workshop on  “Media Ethics in the Age of Social Media and AI” during the 30th ABU Intellectual Property & Legal Committee (IPLC). The workshop was led by prominent media law expert Dr. Venkat Iyer who delved into various aspects of media ethics.

The workshop focused on the ethical and legal quandaries introduced by the advent of new technologies, including social media and artificial intelligence (AI). A significant portion of the discussion was devoted to the debate on whether ethical standards in media should be contextual or if there is a feasibility of setting universal norms.

Participants engaged in critical analysis of the coexistence of traditional journalism with citizen journalism, emphasising the necessity for, and challenges of, implementing codes of conduct. The discourse extended to the role of public interest in defining media ethics.

The workshop also facilitated an in-depth examination of specific ethical challenges prevalent in today’s media landscape. This included the scrutiny of the ethical ramifications of user-generated content, conflicts of interest, and anonymity on the internet. The influence of external factors such as warfare and terrorism on ethical journalism practices received particular attention.

The session concluded with a discussion on the ethical considerations pertinent to the use of artificial intelligence in journalism, highlighting the dynamic nature of media ethics in the contemporary era.