Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.
The 21st century has brought significant technological advancement, with the pinnacle of this growth being artificial intelligence. Everyone’s familiar with AI’s simplification of challenges and its ability to answer questions in a few simple clicks. It’s unlikely that you or your peers haven’t fallen victim to using ChatGPT as a toxic crutch in school.
We cannot ignore this kryptonite to intellectualism any longer. AI is increasingly seeping into the field of journalism, which not only destroys its accuracy but journalistic integrity as well.
With research institutions detailing that AI text cannot be stated as truth due to its inaccuracy, the very use of it simply cannot be justified in a field founded on sharing truth with the masses. In theory, using AI for journalism is like basing your life decisions around fortune cookies: Everything may have a grain of truth, adjusted and transferable to your own life, but is that reason to believe in their power? A grain of truth within a field of inaccurate claims isn’t luck, and it isn’t a truthful foundation — it is a failure in properly tending to the field.
According to a 2025 study conducted by the University of Oxford, 56% of UK journalists use AI professionally at least once a week. According to another study done by researchers from a handful of institutions, about 9% of recently published newspaper articles in the U.S. are partially or completely AI-generated.
This is a matter of integrity. When looking up a pressing issue, whether it be local, national or breaking news, you can’t truly believe in what’s been reported. Real facts almost certainly entered an AI engine, were processed and then cherry-picked.
Whether for investigative or drafting purposes, it’s clear that AI is not only an issue because of its damaging effects on society but rather its unavoidable infiltration into everyday usage. Even while researching for this column, Google offered up AI-generated information prior to any regular source.
It’s with this information that I fully believe we should continue to urge restrictions on AI as a whole. This includes a full ban from its use in reporting — not simply for the sake of journalism but for the maintenance of agency.
Journalism hasn’t become a crucial field through underdeveloped, half-human investigation and curiosity, and it surely shouldn’t become a field where society struggles to find the truth within it. Journalism must retain its foundation of fact. The world we live in should be one that allows people to learn from what’s actually occurring, not from a collage of mutated information that appears to be correct.
History has proven that when media and news become misconstrued — perhaps even to the extent of being considered propaganda — democracy, and society as a whole, wavers. Our faith in journalism cannot fall; AI restrictions and bans are, without an ounce of doubt, a step toward retaining that faith.
The Collegian is among the oldest student newspapers located west of the Mississippi River, and with that acknowledgement comes a great sense of need to retain its truthtelling — something our newspaper does incredibly well. With direct restrictions on AI usage, The Collegian is a newspaper that should be shown as an example of factual news and researched opinion.
The next time you hit “Enter” in a search engine, remember that, fundamentally, society must learn from facts, not summaries. You have the power to be skeptical. Research claims and protect yourself from the rising use of AI.
Reach Vivian Szostak at letters@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
