AI News Summaries Erase Australian Journalism

Artificial intelligence is significantly impacting Australian journalism, with experts warning of increased news deserts and a decline in independent voices. Research from the University of Sydney found that AI news summaries, such as those from Microsoft Copilot, predominantly feature US or European media, largely rendering Australian journalism invisible.

Dr. Timothy Koskie's analysis revealed that approximately only one-fifth of responses to AI news prompts linked to Australian media. When Australian sources were used, they were typically larger outlets, with no mention of local journalists. This reliance on dominant algorithms poses a threat to the financial viability of Australian media outlets.

Users receiving AI-generated summaries without visiting original news sites starve media outlets of essential web traffic and revenue. This situation compounds existing challenges in the Australian media ecosystem, including concentrated ownership and a lack of regional independent outlets. Experts urge the development of policy mechanisms to support journalism's thrive.

To counter these trends, recommendations include extending the remit of media bargaining codes to cover AI tools and incentivizing AI companies to embed geographical location awareness in their designs. Without such interventions, AI tools may worsen Australia's media pluralism challenges rather than improve them.