President Ali displayed leadership and vision

May 15, 2025 Letters

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Dear Editor,

President Irfaan Ali raised the issue of digital tools and AI and the possible impact on journalism in Guyana and around the world. This matter has been and continues to be studied by reputable researchers from universities such as Harvard and Oxford for many years now. It has become a matter of global concern. By being one of the first heads of state to place this issue on the agenda for national and regional dialogue, President Ali has become a global leader on this matter. Our president has become, if not the first, among the first few heads of state to place the matter of digital tools and AI and their impact on journalism. He deserves praise, not criticism.

President Irfaan Ali has been a leader who is not afraid to move things into the future. He came into leadership at the time when CARICOM invested more than $6B annually in importing food it can produce. He initiated the 25 X 25 initiative to reduce food import from outside CARICOM by 25% by 2025, now with the target set for 2030. He has built on the visionary low carbon development strategy, initiated by President Bharat Jagdeo in 2010. In July, President Ali will launch, in Guyana, the Biodiversity Alliance with global leaders and institutions. There are other initiatives he has catalyzed since he was sworn in as President in August 2020.

In a similar vein, President Irfaan Ali has seen the dramatic rise of digital tools as a source for news and information. He has seen the impact of Artificial Intelligence on various aspects of life and has seen how significant Artificial Intelligence is impacting the media and journalism. Instead of just waiting to see how this plays out, President Ali used the occasion of World Journalism Day 2025 to highlight the impact of digital tools, including artificial intelligence in the operations of the media in Guyana and around the world. He urged media practitioners to recognize the revolution that is taking place and consider how Guyana, CARICOM, and the world might be able to maximize the potential for good that these tools offer, but, concurrently, ensure that the potential for bad or for evil does not gain traction.

For this, the president deserves commendation. One would have thought that any organization representing either the media or media practitioners would have jumped on the opportunity offered by the president to participate in a national dialogue on a matter of importance to Guyana and the world. But not so the Guyana Press Association which immediately knocked the idea and immediately concluded this was a signal of a president and his government setting the stage for restriction of press freedom.

Nothing the president stated was even remotely linked to press freedom restriction. Indeed, the president admitted that he was not certain what the rise in AI and digital tools mean for the practice of journalism. The president cautioned that whatever impact AI and digital tools have on the quality of journalism, we ought to ensure that responsibility, fairness, truth and justice remain the hallmark of a strong media world in Guyana.

The GPA predictably donned their political cap as one of the major anti-PPP government organizations in Guyana. Strangely, it is the GPA which just days before had spoken about AI and the potential for mischief, misinformation, etc.

A brave new world of the media, of journalism, has emerged. There has been a profound dislocation of the media in recent years. DISLOCATION is now the buzzword for media realities. Where journalists and reporters populate their work is today very different from where they did just two to three decades ago. From just newspapers, radio and TV newscasts and talk shows, practitioners have moved to newer places, such as Facebook, Instagram, Instagram Reels, Tik-Tok, Podcasts, You-Tube, What’s App, Linkedin, etc. But who is a journalist has been impacted by dislocations also. Who is a journalist or reporter has changed, to the great chagrin of those who trained for the job. Indeed, ordinary citizens more and more provide a new source for information. Where people obtain their news and their information, clearly, too, has been dislocated. No longer is the newspaper or the radio or TV the exclusive destination for people looking for the news or for information. Now the destination is digital tools, search engines, etc.

It is a fragmented media environment offering people around the world a seemingly endless sources of information to choose from. Where Guyanese, like their counterparts in other countries around the world, obtain their information has changed radically in the 21st century. Digital sources today dominate the media environment.   Young people are unlikely to read newspapers or watch the TV news for their information. The bad news for traditional media is that this unlikely possibility also now is rapidly gaining traction with older people.

Even before 2000, newspaper readership has been suffering significant losses. The decline has become an existential crisis for newspapers. In the US, a study showed that from just 35% of adults who read newspapers in 2019, it dropped to a worrying 24% in 2022. A Pew Research Center survey (2020) found that 86 percent of adults in America got their news from a smartphone, computer, or tablet “often” or “sometimes,” compared to just 40% who similarly got news from TV. A similar trend is seen across the world.

The media world today is radically different from what existed at the start of the 21st century. While changes had already started prior to 2000, the changes have accelerated so rapidly that what constitute the media today has no resemblance to what the media was just twenty-five years ago. Journalism today is very different from what it was in 2000. Indeed, who is a journalist has changed dramatically and we now fight for a proper definition of who is a journalist.

With all the changes that have occurred in the last twenty-five years, journalism is about to change even further and even more rapidly. The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has already had an impact on the media and on journalism. The changing milieu and the changing environment for journalism and the potential for AI to completely revolutionise the media and the practice of journalism, to redefine who is a journalist have become a global concern.  President Irfaan Ali has once again taken a leadership role on a matter of great importance for Guyana, CARICOM and the world. It is why he is seen not simply as Guyana’s President, but a leader on the global stage.

Regards,

Dr. Leslie Ramsammy

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