Media, media education, GAI and radical uncertainty

From Firenze University Press Journal: Media Education

Petri Honkanen, Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Finland

Mats Nylund, Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Finland

Artificial intelligence applications, especially those based on large language models (LLMs) like genera-tive AI (GAI), are revolutionizing society and the media landscape in unprecedented ways. A significant mile-stone in this process was the public release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022.In the media field, this means the emergence of new types of content, platforms, and interaction relation-ships, whose long-term stability and impacts are difficult to predict. For social and consequently media studies, GAI is expected to signify a shift in operating methods. GAI opens up new possibilities for data collec-tion and analysis, yet it places researchers in a situation where traditional research methods and assumptions are tested. GAI also poses challenges to higher education. It offers innovative ways for learning and teaching, yet it also presents challenges concerning academic integrity, the quality of learning, and future work readiness.This article examines the effects of GAI on society, media and media education. It also explores the connec-tion between AI development and research and knowl-edge acquisition from a social science and media studies perspective. In the results section will be assessed how GAI’s impact can be approached through theoretical frameworks. The research primarily targets media education, where the opportunities and challenges are shaped in two ways. On one hand, the rapid development of AI and its effects on media content, production, distribu-tion, and consumption are transforming the content of media education, thereby challenging traditional models. On the other hand, the aforementioned effects of GAI on the general operational practices of higher education are also evident in media education and its organization. In theoretical terms we relate to media ecology, that examines the intersections of media and technol-ogy, and how they affect human perception and experi-ence (McLuhan & McLuhan, 1988). From this perspec-tive, GAI can be defined as a new media and yet another communicative technology that reshapes how we per-ceive and engage with reality (Petricini, 2024). This liter-ature review aims to contribute to a critical understanding of GAI in media education and media research (cf. Luttrell & al., 2020).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/me-16303

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