Growing reliance on AI news summaries raises questions over accuracy, media bias
Washington: The use of artificial intelligence to summarise news has expanded rapidly which has reshaped how readers consume and interpret daily information. Major technology companies have introduced AI-powered summaries across platforms, including tools that analyse scanned newspaper clippings and condensed search results. These are positioned as quicker alternatives to traditional news reading.
Earlier this year, a study highlighted by The Guardian warned that AI-generated summaries could have a “devastating impact” on digital news outlets, citing evidence of up to an 80 per cent drop in click-through traffic as readers increasingly rely on AI-generated answers instead of visiting original news websites.
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Beyond economic consequences, experts have raised alarms about factual accuracy and embedded bias. Tim Graham, Director of Media Analysis at the US-based Media Research Center, recently argued that AI news summaries cannot be fully accurate because they depend on source material that may itself be biased, even if such sources are categorised as credible by AI systems. Speaking on the programme No Spin News with American journalist Bill O’Reilly, Graham said this limitation applies across platforms, including Grok, ChatGPT and Gemini.
Echoing these concerns, media scholar Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee, professor at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication in Dhenkanal, told Hinduatan Times that current AI systems lack the contextual understanding and common sense required to identify and filter bias. He further claimed that artificial intelligence reflects the opinions encoded in its training data. It cannot independently identify prejudice or narrative.
Dr Chatterjee stresses that discerning bias is a human responsibility that requires awareness, education, and critical engagement with news content. He points out that media bias can result from either deliberate influence or unintentional errors, and that while not all media organizations are biased, the risk is always there.
To address these challenges, while some readers and institutions are turning to analytical tools designed to assess media bias, platforms such as AllSides are providing comparative analysis of news outlets across ideological spectrums.
In the United States, the White House has also launched an online portal aimed at tracking media bias and misinformation. The platform catalogues what it describes as false or misleading reports, maintains a public list of repeat offenders.
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Karnataka CM, Deputy CM working like brothers, high command to decide on leadership: Pilot
Bengaluru (PTI): Playing down the power tussle in the Karnataka state unit of Congress, AICC General Secretary Sachin Pilot on Monday said, both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar are working like brothers, and whatever decision the Congress high command takes on the matter will be acceptable to everyone.
Speaking to reporters here, with Deputy CM D K Shivakumar seated next to him, he said, "When PCC (state Congress) President (Shivakumar) has called the Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) his elder brother, and the chief minister says he (Shivakumar) is my younger brother, that settles the matter."
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"Let me tell you that the Karnataka government has functioned with full integrity and dedication. Whatever promises we made as a party before the polls, we are fulfilling all of them. We are working strongly, and I can assure you in 2028 the Congress party will come back with a thumping majority," Pilot said to a question on the Congress high command's reluctance to end the power tussle.
"Whatever decision the party takes, it is acceptable to every Congress worker in the state. We are singularly working to make sure that we deliver on our promises and win back the state in 2028," he added.
Responding to a question on the high command not solving the leadership issue in the state, while pointing out that a similar power tussle existed in Rajasthan, between him and the then CM Ashok Gehlot, Pilot said, Everyone will abide by whatever decision is taken by the leadership of the party. "We will work together."
"Tell me which leader of the party, whether it is the chief minister or the Pradesh Congress Committee President, has said that they will not abide by the party high command's decision. When everything is left to the Congress high command, the party will decide whatever it has to. Our collective objective is to strengthen the Congress across the country, including Karnataka," he added.
