Challenges of Employing Artificial Intelligence Technologies in Iraqi Media Institutions (A Field Study)

Abstract

Objectives: The study aims to uncover the professional, ethical, and strategic challenges facing the employment of artificial intelligence technologies in Iraqi media institutions from the perspective of Iraqi media elites. It also aims to assess their knowledge and awareness of the importance of employing these technologies in media institutions. Methodology: The study is classified as descriptive research that examines the reality of events, positions, and opinions, describing and analyzing them. The survey method was adopted using a questionnaire distributed to a purposive sample of Iraqi media elites, totaling 322 respondents. Results: The overall average score of the assessment of the professional challenges facing the employment of artificial intelligence technologies in Iraqi media institutions from the perspective of media and academic elites was 4.010, with a percentage of 80.2%, indicating a high level. The category (Weakness of technical capabilities related to artificial intelligence among workers in Iraqi media institutions) ranked first with a weighted percentage of 85.5%, followed by (Neglecting newly emerging roles in the era of artificial intelligence and clinging to traditional roles) ranking second with a weighted percentage of 82.5%. The overall average score of the assessment of the ethical challenges facing the employment of artificial intelligence technologies in Iraqi media institutions from the perspective of media and academic elites was 3.858, with a percentage of 77.2%, indicating a high level. The category (Difficulty in verifying the credibility of data sources used by artificial intelligence algorithms in producing media content) ranked first with a weighted percentage of 81.4%, followed by (Difficulty of artificial intelligence algorithms in dealing with unstructured or unorganized data to create automated content) ranking second with a weighted percentage of 79.4%.