Naja Nielsen, media director of SVT: 'We don't have decades to get used to AI'

Credit: Mark Hakansson / Marten Publishing

News organisations have spent decades adapting to digital transformation, but do not have the same luxury of time to get used to AI.

That was the topline of Naja Nielsen's keynote speech at last week's Newsrewired conference. Nielsen is the incoming media director at SVT in Sweden, a new career chapter for her after spearheading digital transformation at the BBC through the pandemic, recent wars and elections.

She cited a 1967 BBC handbook chapter by David Attenborough, which detailed how it took 19 years to fully test and implement colour television. Technology is moving ever-faster, she notes: "We don't even have 19 months."

Nordic countries are ahead of the curve in implementing generative AI because they are, broadly speaking, widely digitised societies. She pointed to large new publishers like Aftonbladet, to more cautious broadcasters like Sveriges Radio, which have developed advanced chatbots to serve users.

This has been in response to changing user behaviour. Users are turning to AI for all sorts of everyday needs, from counselling to homework, and from shopping to, yes, news.

Generative AI will destroy and rebuild many parts of the news ecosystem, from business models to reporting workflows. News organisations need an open mind to learn from the early adopters.

Nielsen gave a shoutout to Finnish media analyst Kalle Pirhonen’s live tracker blog as a handy resource which monitors media experimentation of generative AI.

However, she stressed to stay true to fundamental values while embracing new technology, which will continue to be tested by the pressure of audiences and advertisers.

Good examples of what this means in reality exist: Argentina's La Nacion analysed 89 hours of speeches from President Javier Milei using AI tools to identify patterns and rhetoric.

It also means that partnerships that once seemed uncomfortable (with competitors, influencers, or even politicians) may be necessary in the AI era.

The bottom line is that news organisations must solve very real problems for future audiences, instead of just solving them for themselves.

Think about the critical needs of audiences: to understand the world, plan their lives, connect with communities, take part in democracy and inform choices.

"We need to come up with solutions that help people navigate in a world where you can't believe your own eyes," she concludes.

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