[OPINION] – Media Mistakes Show Limits of AI Tools

(JUBA) – The robots are coming, they said. Journalism would be finished, they warned. But last week, artificial intelligence confused a London based editor with a fire grilling TV chef and suddenly, the mighty machine sounded more like a confused boda boda rider in Konyo Konyo market trying to explain directions to a lost NGO intern.

Andrew Tuck, a respectable magazine editor known for his sharp columns, was recently declared by an AI engine to be not just a journalist but also a seasoned master of the open fire grill. According to the online oracle, Tuck had apparently grilled both politicians and pork ribs with equal flair, a bold culinary journalistic crossover that no one saw coming, least of all Tuck himself.

You see, the algorithm had taken two Andrew Tucks, one with a pen and one with a pan, and cooked them together like okra in a rushed kitchen. No seasoning. No fact checking. Just AI slop, served cold.

Now, imagine what happens when that same machine decides to summarise the politics of Jonglei or the cattle disputes in Cueibet. One moment you are reading about a peace dialogue, next thing you know, it is offering you a recipe for roasted goat liver with and constitutional reform.

In South Sudan, where every word counts and miscommunication can spark more than just online confusion, trusting AI with news writing is like asking a first year boda boda driver from Jebel Market to fly a plane – technically possible, but not wise.

Local journalists know the roads, the rumours and the reality. They know that “market prices are up” might mean there is a shortage of onions in Custom or just that someone in the Ministry got paid late again.

AI can not smell Juba rain, it can not hear the way a politician dodges a question in a press briefing, and it definitely does not know how to pronounce “Torit” without sounding like it is sneezing.

Of course, some people are still convinced AI will soon take over everything. Yes, there are stories of billion dollar salaries being thrown at machine engineers, the kind of money that could build a new tarmac road from Gudele to Yei. But for all the billions and bots, AI is still struggling with basic logic. If it can not tell the difference between a food critic and a foreign minister, it is not ready for Gumbo Sherikat politics.

Even companies are starting to see the downside. A media researcher recently confessed that brands are moving away from AI generated content because, in her words, there is just too much “slop” out there. Slop, in this case, refers to content so bland and repetitive it makes primary school debates sound like Shakespeare.

That, dear reader, is where the humble South Sudanese journalist still shines. While AI regurgitates mashed up nonsense, the real journalist is in the field, dodging rain and finding truth behind closed gates. They still ask questions in three languages, verify names twice, and don’t confuse Hon. Wani with the boda guy named Wani who sings part time gospel in Hai Malakal.

So yes, AI might one day learn the difference between a journalist and a chef. But until then, we should keep supporting real media written by people who know that Bor is not a type of cheese.

AI vs Human Journalism