AI Tools for Journalists to Cover Climate Change Issues.. Session 5 with Dr. Radwa Abdel Latif
On the evening of Tuesday, September 10, 2024, the fifth session of the (Media and Climate) program series, implemented by the National Forum for Environment and Sustainable Development (NFESD) in cooperation with the Arab Network for Scientific Journalism and the Humanitarian Journalism Foundation, was held on the Zoom platform under the title “AI Tools for Journalists to Cover Climate Change Issues”.
The session focused on how to use AI tools and their practical application during the two-hour training. Specific tools, their functions, advantages, disadvantages, and alternatives were presented to help journalists generate and develop journalistic ideas about climate change issues and produce audio materials, design images, and create videos.
It was explained that tools for idea generation and writing, such as ChatGPT, Gimine, and Copilot, can assist journalists by allowing them to ask questions, exchange ideas, and explore different angles for journalistic materials. These tools can also be used for language editing, summarizing large files, analyzing infographics, and rephrasing and translating content. However, these tools have both advantages and disadvantages, and companies are constantly competing to address these shortcomings and add new features, either for free or through subscriptions.
The importance of design tools was also highlighted, such as Microsoft Designer, which is used similarly to Canva, and the voice-over tool 11labs, which converts text to speech and allows for adding sound effects.
The video production tool Invideo was mentioned, which enables those without experience in editing and digital video production to create content for any platform on climate change issues and other topics.
The session also mentioned a tool for creating a Google website dedicated to climate change issues called mixo.
Finally, it was noted that some Arab countries have banned AI tools for their citizens, and that this ban can be circumvented by using a VPN application.
This session is the fifth in a series of sessions under the (Media and Climate) program launched by the National Forum for Environment and Sustainable Development (NFESD) in cooperation with the Arab Network for Scientific Journalism and the Humanitarian Journalism Foundation, aimed at developing the capabilities of journalists in addressing environmental and climate issues and using AI tools in an easy and seamless manner.
