AI gives voice to imprisoned Swedish-Eritrean journalist
A journalist, incarcerated without trial since 2001, has ‘spoken’, courtesy of the exponential rise of AI.
ChatGPT-4, the in-vogue text prompt technology, has been harnessed by retailer Pressbyran and the non-profit body Reporters Without Borders to give voice to a silenced colleague to highlight the importance of free speech during World Press Freedom Day.
This is exemplified in the case of Dawit Isaak whose distinctive prose and unmistakable style is reportedly parroted by artificial intelligence (AI) in an article championing press freedoms for the Swedish daily Expressen.
Lennart Schultz, marketing and communications manager at Pressbyrån and Reitan Convenience Sweden, said: “Using AI felt like a highly relevant and exciting way to shine a light on this critical topic. We have also been very keen to involve and include Dawit Isaak’s family, who have given their permission for the project.”
Unable to contribute to the piece directly the algorithm-generated article was pulled together from a Frankenstein data set of 36,000 words previously penned by the journalist. A simple prompt then reassembled this body of work into a new text displaying the same tone, style and qualities of the real deal.
Marveling at the still largely untapped power of the technology Erik Halkjaer, chairman of Reporters Without Borders, added: “There is a lot that can be said about AI and the huge challenges it poses in terms of press freedom, for example, but being able to return the voice of a journalist who has been imprisoned and gagged for almost 22 years felt huge. No other journalist in the world has been imprisoned as long, and yet today we can hear his voice.”
To stimulate interest in the case and the broader issues arising from it an associated print, outdoor and social media campaign is being run.
A Pandora's Box of ethical considerations has been unleashed by the rapid rise and transformative potential of AI, not least the anticipated explosion of fake images, text and video online. Into this breach, organizations such as the Red Cross are valiantly attempting to hold the line between fact and fiction.
Credits
Pressbyrån/Reitan Convenience Sweden
Marketing manager: Lennart Schultz
Campaign manager: Adrienne Heurlin
Content manager: Gabriella Matheny
PR: Harris Lukeman
Reporters Without Borders
Chairman: Erik Halkjaer
Operations manager: Katarina Carlsson
Åkestam Holst NoA
Art director: Caroline Andersson
Copywriter: Stephanie Moradi
Creative director: Joakim Khoury
Project manager: Natalie Pehar N’Doye
Project manager: Lisa Voltaire
Production manager: Bella Lagerquist
Planner: Patrik Lundberg
Web developer: Kalle Peterz
Motion designer: Eskil Lundberg, Nisse Axman
PR: Gabriel Francke Rodau
North Kingdom NoA
Technical director: Peder Fjällström
Media partner: Expressen
Media agency: Carat