OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — AI isn't coming. It's here. And in more places than you might expect. That means whether we know it or not, we must identify what is real and what is made up: so-called "AI slop."
KMTV and our Scripps News Group partners are exploring the issue as part of National News Literacy Week. We sat down with Marian High School students and had a frank conversation about spotting what's artificial and what's intelligent about this new technology.
WATCH KATRINA'S FIRST STORY BELOW
Journalism students at Marian High School are worried about the effect artificial intelligence is having on critical thinking and news consumption, offering their generation's perspective on how to navigate an increasingly complex media landscape.
"When you see a headline, like look into it and decipher — is this true or not?" said Alaina Kroll.
The juniors and seniors who work on the school newspaper worry about AI's effects on critical thinking and creativity.
"When you have the answers at your fingertips, like instantly, you – your brain does not have that chance to grow," Kroll said.
Erin Cramer, one of the editors of the school newspaper, shares similar concerns.
"My biggest concern is probably just the lack of critical thinking that comes with AI and how it can be taken at face value," she said.
"I feel like we're getting less smart as a society because of the way it's so – you wanna know something, just ask AI," said Izumi Huang.
WATCH KATRINA'S SECOND STORY BELOW
Three tips for media literacy
The students offered practical advice for consuming news responsibly in the digital age.
Tip one: Read past the headline
"You have the read the story, otherwise you just see a headline that blows something out of proportion and you don't know the details," said Hayden Blaney.
"My grandparents and their siblings, they just go on like a news website and they just like doom scroll, and only look at headlines, and they don't click on a single article and that just forms their entire opinion," Katherine Dietz said.
Tip two: Online algorithms show you what you want to see
Hannah Taylor warned about the dangers of algorithm-driven content: "And it makes it so easy to create this media landscape where you only have to listen to your side."
"We have this confirmation bias," Cramer said. "That when we're scrolling, we see something that we agree with, it clicks in our brain to think that 'Oh, that must be true because it's already what I thought.'"
Tip three: Double check images
"My mom will see like a video on Facebook or AI and she'll like laugh at it and she'll say like 'look at this video' and I'll be like 'Mom, that's AI,'" said Abby Else.
"Even illustrations and stuff like that. It's all just very smoothe and very inhuman," Dietz said.
Mixed feelings about AI in journalism
The students were asked if there's an appropriate use for AI in journalism.
"I think it's okay to use in some journalistic situations, more in editing, but the writing has to be your own because you're portraying stories and news that actually happened to humans," said Ruby Scanlan.
"I think it's really important that we make our graphics and take our own photos," Syrah Qureshi said.
The students have mixed feelings about how their generation is adapting to AI technology.
"As a generation, we're catching onto that because we're kind of evolving with it," Else said.
However, Huang was one of the students who said she's worried about how younger siblings consume media.
"Instant gratification I think is like something that keeps coming up for our generation and I feel like AI makes it a lot worse," she said.
Staying motivated in an overwhelming information age
Despite the challenges of navigating today's media landscape, the students believe staying informed remains crucial.
"Staying motivated and knowing the importance of media literacy is one of the most important ways to become media literate, is knowing that it's important," Alaina said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
