Evolving Media Part 3: Trust in an Automated World

More ink has been spent on the topic of AI disruption and integration in media than any other topic. Much of the discourse has been around the threat AI-generated content poses to human copy writers and creative professionals. Many threats are overblown but that is a topic for a different time.

What cannot be ignored is the fact that low-quality media is at high risk of disruption. Press releases and ‘news’ stories that read like them are easily replicable. On the other hand, the value proposition of trusted content creators remains solid. For example, if I am a nephrologist, I will continue to value what my colleague has to say over what an AI generated piece proclaims.

Why? Because the human element leads to the ability to trust them as someone of a similar position in life as me. It is about an ability to relate to one another. A bot can write something like ‘most medical residents….’ While only a colleague can write ‘I recall how back in my residency days…’ One of those is a statement of generalized fact, the other is a story that resonates with me. It makes the content personal to me.

In an automated world it will be trusted authors who can relate on the human level with their audience that will drive traffic and capture eyeballs.