Artificial intelligence, press freedom and the media: Will AI help or hinder South-East Asia’s newsr

Across the region, economic pressure, surveillance threats to journalists and disinformation are placing growing strain on the media. For many small and independent newsrooms, survival is a daily struggle. In this atmosphere, AI tools present both promise and peril. Can they help small outlets stay afloat by cutting costs, boosting efficiency and amplifying underrepresented voices? Or will they deepen existing divides, reinforcing bias and displacing journalists?

To mark World Press Freedom Day, UNESCO Bangkok and the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand will host a panel that brings together journalists, media experts and technologists to examine AI’s growing role in the newsroom. Drawing on experiences from Thailand, Myanmar, and beyond, we ask:

How are newsrooms using AI today -- and what’s holding them back?

Can AI support independent journalism and minority media?

What are the ethical and editorial risks of automated content

And how can we ensure AI strengthens press freedom?

Speakers will include the following:

Charlie Beckett, founding director of polis, and director of the JournalismAI Project, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Pijitra Suppasawatgul, Associate Professor, Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University.

Mike Raomanachai, lead trainer, Cofact Thailand, and vice-president for Southeast Asia, Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA)-Asia.

Nattha Komolvadhin, news director, The STANDARD.

Moderator: Francesca Regalado, journalist.

You may also like the following events from Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand - FCCT:

• Next Thursday, 8th May, 07:00 pm, Dateline -- Saigon in Bangkok
• This month, 23rd May, 06:30 pm, Democratic jungle: The invisible struggles of the workers who power our world in Bangkok

Also check out other Arts events in Bangkok, Fine Arts events in Bangkok.