A handheld gimbal camera, a microphone, and a voice recorder—equipped with this "minimalist" pocket-sized set of production gear, a female reporter from a television station in a southwestern province independently interviewed with a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference outside the Great Hall of the People.
The process of interviewing, capturing, recording, and transmitting was seamless. "Originally, this work required at least two to three people, but now with these 'magic tools,' one person can do it all," she said to a journalist from the Hong Kong Wen Wei Po, adding that her media outlet has halved the number of reporters attending this year after advanced equipment were put into use.
If technology continues to develop, she joked, maybe she won't need to come to the scene next year.
The "career anxiety" of her is not unfounded. Looking around the venue of this year's Two Sessions, the wind of AI is blowing strong: lightweight AI glasses can replace photographers carrying heavy equipment, clearly capturing the details of the venue while simultaneously taking photos and videos. With the help of AI large models, one can search for information and record text, design interview outlines, write articles, proofread errors, extract headlines, and even rewrite short video scripts.
Now, even robot reporters have appeared; at the Hong Kong delegation's venue, a robot conducted live interviews with representatives, using voice interaction and facial recognition technology to engage in smooth conversations. Gordon Lam, a HKSAR deputy to the National People's Congress, was impressed by the robot's interaction capabilities and reporting efficiency.
Value of AI in Expanding Human Boundaries
As the wave of artificial intelligence surges, how much longer can journalists hold onto their jobs?
At the venue, veteran reporters enjoyed the conveniences brought by the AI era but still debated this topic. While some expressed anxiety, many remained optimistic, believing that AI's value lies in "expanding" rather than "replacing."
Many noted that if a reporter merely acts as a "recorder," AI's automated writing and content generation functions can almost "annihilate" traditional reporting, being more efficient and logically coherent. However, AI-generated texts often suffer from data misalignment and logical gaps, blending events from different times and spaces. More importantly, while they excel at reorganizing existing information, they struggle to discern truth from falsehood and lack sensitivity to on-site details.
"AI can produce quick and complete press releases, but it cannot recreate the real atmosphere of the venue, the sparks of thought from the representatives, the warmth of interactions, or the sense of mission within them. These details, which those machines cannot capture, are precisely what makes news most compelling," stated a senior reporter.
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