If you'd told Ed Madison he'd be developing artificial intelligence tools for journalists two years ago, he "would have looked at you sideways."
But that was before Madison, an associate professor of journalism at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, went to an education conference in Boston. That's where he stumbled upon a company demonstrating an AI mentor to teach students how to write essays.
With the company's help, he created the prototype of an AI tool to guide journalism students through the creation of news articles. Dubbed Murrow.ai, after legendary newscaster Edward R. Murrow, the tool has since been used by thousands of students internationally.
As director of Oregon's Journalistic Learning Initiative nonprofit, Madison has struck a positive yet cautionary tone about the use of AI in journalism. On the one hand, he has embraced its use as a tool to help students craft better stories by spurring their own creativity. On the other, he has expressed concerns about the disinformation that AI has unleashed upon the internet and social media.
As new AI tools create increasingly convincing fakes in text, image and video, he has argued for greater media literacy to navigate a brave new AI world.
OregonNews sat down with Madison to get his take on where AI is headed, how to responsibly use it in education, and why media literacy is more important than ever. Answers have been lightly edited for clarity.
"I think we'll see a time when the heirs of various celebrities, the Marilyn Monroes and James Deans, will be approached about signing something that gives them passive income from new films created from their likenesses. What I'm afraid of is what happens when everything looks so real, we don't believe anything anymore."
Q: What do you say to people who are skeptical about using AI in journalism?
A: A recent study found that a huge percentage, well over 50 percent, of the stuff we're reading has been somehow modified by AI. So, opting out of AI doesn't mean opting out of its impact; even students who choose not to use AI tools are still affected by them. I tell students, don't be afraid of AI, make it your superpower. To the degree you become AI literate, you'll be able to use it in an effective way.
Q: How does Murrow help students create good journalism?
A: Students can always go to ChatGPT and say "Write me a story," but we wanted to develop a tool that will help develop skills and not just be a shortcut. Murrow helps them tease out the topic they want to write about and think critically about how to approach it from a new perspective. How can they localize it? What voices haven't been represented? After they do the interviews and write the draft they can upload it, and Murrow won't rewrite it for them. But it might ask if there are other perspectives that could be included, the same kinds of questions an editor might ask.
Q: How do you integrate AI tools with more traditional teaching?
A: No matter how advanced AI gets, students still need feedback from real people - teachers, editors, mentors - who can nurture nuance, voice and values. We should build workflows that combine AI tools with human relationships, not replace them. I recommend students print out Murrow's feedback and then sit with a teacher to discuss it. AI can supercharge creativity, but it can't replace critical thinking. Generative AI tools can help students brainstorm, revise and visualize concepts, but they don't teach discernment. Real learning happens when students make meaning for themselves.
Q: You've warned about the proliferation of disinformation online. How do you teach students to confront that?
A: The problem we face is that as exponentially more stuff is being written by bots, discerning what's fact and fiction is going to become more difficult. AI is now embedded in how people search, discover and produce news, but most AI-generated content lacks transparency about sources and bias. We need to emphasize critical thinking and healthy skepticism, encouraging people to look under the hood and not accept something at face value. A lot of times, for example, with an AI response to a Google search, there will be a little link in the corner citing where it came from. People need to click on that and go to the primary source. They need to learn not just to accept what they see, but ask who created it, and why, and how.
Q: You've also expressed concern about the increasing realism of AI videos using tools such as Sora 2. What's the danger?
A: I wrote a piece about a video I found on YouTube showing Michael Jackson teaching Martin Luther King how to moonwalk. Subsequently, Sora said they're no longer going to allow that kind of content because it diminishes the legacy of these important figures. But will someone figure out how to do it? Probably. I think we'll see a time when the heirs of various celebrities, the Marilyn Monroes and James Deans, will be approached about signing something that gives them passive income from new films created from their likenesses. What I'm afraid of is what happens when everything looks so real, we don't believe anything anymore. That's not a safe place for us in a democracy. We need to discourage against denigrating our historical figures and teach responsibility in how we use these tools.
Q: How can we start teaching that kind of media literacy and responsible use?
A: Media literacy is a civic skill, not just a classroom topic, so teaching students to distinguish fact from fiction isn't optional. It's democracy work, whether it's spotting deepfakes or navigating algorithmic bias or understanding AI-generated ads. Young people need tools to decode digital content, and so do adults. The good news is that we are seeing more and more states mandate media literacy as part of the curriculum. What they don't do is tell school districts how to accomplish that. But nonetheless, it's on their radar.
Q: How are you working to help prepare students for an increasingly AI future?
A: We used to use the term "workforce readiness," but now I'm thinking about a new theoretical construct I call "future fluidity." That fluidity is teaching people to have the skills to deal with the unexpected and be nimble. If you think about it, that's what journalists are trained to do. They drop into unfamiliar circumstances and very quickly discern what the important questions are, synthesize what they discover, and relay it to an audience. So, in a sense, my argument is taking this journalistic lens and approach to learning and using it to prepare students for an uncertain future.
