What is the secret of communication in the AI era? What if people don’t know how to communicate in the AI era? How can AI technology empower communication? What should college students prepare for the AI era, and how to embrace the new era?

On May 12, a group of six Hong Kong media persons visited Huaqiao University (HQU), and shared their observations and thoughts on communication in the era of AI at the Quanzhou and Xiamen campuses. This is part of the media culture activities for overseas Chinese students in HQU.

Chen Yue, director of public relations at Phoenix Satellite TV, said that “it is still people, instead of technology, that lead the way of communication in the AI era.” People are always at the core of communication, whether through speech, words, prints, e-media, the Internet or the newly-emerged AI. She believes that media persons should always stick to their original aspirations, and make full use of new technologies, such as big data, cloud computing and AI, to enhance the authenticity and timeliness of communication, as well as the credibility and guiding power of media.

Li Wei, a commentator of Phoenix Satellite TV and well-known we-media person with more than 10 million followers, shared his experience in the we-media field focusing on current politics. “The artificial intelligence now is still limited, and there is still a long way to go before it becomes the general type -- artificial general intelligence (AGI).” He believes that journalists in the AI era still play a key role in that they “see the world from multi-dimensional perspectives and with an unbiased attitude” (to set the record straight, and to distinguish right from wrong).

Cheng Helin, a program consultant of Phoenix Satellite TV, started his sharing with a popular Cantonese lyrics to illustrate the rapid development of AI and its immeasurable power. He suggested that the era of AI has dismantled the concept of “seeing is believing”. Living in the new era requires us to know about communication, and for professionals, one should master the ability to find the truth and verify the truth just like detectives.

“AI brings us both opportunities and challenges.” Lv Ningsi, chief executive editor and deputy director of Phoenix InfoNews Channel, noted that AI has both lowered and raised the threshold of the media industry. On the one hand, AI provides a new path for the development of communication by efficiently converting the content between text, audio and video, which further improves content productivity. On the other hand, it is not easy to apply AI in the media industry, for new technologies can help with basic tasks, but “they can never replace thoughtful and creative work”.

Chen Jian of Phoenix Network said, “College students should improve their critical thinking skills in the era of AI.” The host and producer of “Hong Kong News” also stressed the importance of nurturing AI literacy by citing the example of Lingnan University in Hong Kong, which includes AI courses in its compulsory course list. In her view, college students in the AI era could maximize the benefits of AI in repetitive and structural work, but work harder to master the AI communication technology and to identify the authenticity of information in the AI era.

“Embrace the AI era and live in it.” Huang Haibo, deputy director of Phoenix Chinese Channel and documentary producer, believes that AI is not a monster and will not replace human beings, but more as a supporting role. People should actively interact with AI to form a virtuous circle between humans and AI. He said that AI does take away some jobs, but we should still believe that we are in control. Just keep a close eye on the scientific development it initiates, the improved social productivity it brings and the social wealth it creates.

During the Q&A session, they also answered students’ questions on issues like, how AI facilitates news reporting, the scientific and technological rationality and humanistic care behind AI technologies, the authenticity of information in the era of AI, how to break the information cocoon, and how to become an excellent journalist in the era of AI.

Six Guests Exchanging Ideas and Thoughts with HQU Teachers and Students

The Lecture at Quanzhou Campus

The Lecture at Xiamen Campus

(Editor: Wei Linying)