By Nurin Patra & Neville Timothy Sanders
KUCHING: The Sarawak Media Conference (SMEC) 2025 opened with a high-level panel session titled ‘Survival of the Media Industry in the Face of AI’ at the Sheraton Hotel last Wednesday (July 2).
The session on Wednesday, held as part of the two-day conference from July 2 to 3, brought together five expert panelists and a TV host with TVS’ Cheryl Syahmina Toh as the moderator.
The discussion highlighted how AI is reshaping the media landscape in Sarawak, from newsroom operations to content creation, and offered insights into what the future may hold as the technology continues to evolve.
Concerns were raised over the erosion of core journalistic skills such as storytelling, ethics, and critical thinking.
While some embraced AI as a tool for innovation and survival, others stressed on the importance of empathy and human creativity in news reporting.
Overreliance on AI
UNIMAS Faculty Education Language and Communication lecturer Malia Taibi said that reliance on AI tools can erode confidence in one’s own journalistic instincts and skills.
“Even though I’ve been doing this for many years, tools like ChatGPT sometimes make me second-guess myself.
“I find myself wondering, ‘Did I do it correctly? Did I translate it clearly?’
That kind of self-doubt didn’t exist before; we didn’t rely on AI back then because we were confident in our skills.
“But now, that uncertainty is there and that’s why I approach AI with some scepticism, but at the same time, I recognise its value,” she said.
She added that it’s a useful tool in teaching and learning, and it also allows students to experiment and be more creative in how they approach their work.
Malia stressed that true journalistic skills are tested when AI tools are unavailable or fail.
“When technical glitches happen, that’s the real test. If you can’t write without AI, you’re in trouble,” she said, adding that journalism is about asking the right questions, understanding nuance, and making ethical decisions, not just content production.
Meanwhile, beyond individual concerns, broader questions are being raised about whether AI can keep up with the speed and complexity of today’s information landscape.
As concerns over bias, misinformation, and manipulation grow, calls have intensified for stronger safeguards within media organisations to prevent AI from being misused.
Echoing this concern, Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) CEO, Ainol Amriz highlighted the need for infrastructure and expertise within news agencies.
“We have to look at Sarawak as an example, where a data centre has been developed.
Every media agency should have a similar setup to ensure accuracy and oversight when using AI.
“You cannot simply use AI in the newsroom without understanding how it works. To prevent the spread of false or misleading content, we need people who are experts in the technology.
“Every news organisation must establish an AI-related database and place trained personnel in charge,” he said.
Shift from resisting AI to experimenting with AI
Senior vice president of Corporate Communications, Steve Saerang said that media in Southeast Asia were no longer resisting AI but actively experimenting with it as part of a broader shift in content strategies and survival tactics.
“Media is now in the experimental phase, testing various tools, systems and formats to see what engages audiences. At the end of the day, survival depends on staying relevant.
“So we are not debating about do they resist or not, do they use the tools or not. But we can see how advanced the content that they deliver is of any difference – how media from US and media from Sarawak deliver their contents.
“There is no difference right now because we can use the same tools. I see this one as an opportunity,” he said.
Echoing the importance of innovation, AI Visionary CEO and founder Soh Wan Wei said that AI was not only being tested in content creation but also in business models.
“Since 2023, I’ve used a digital twin, an AI version of myself, to deliver speeches while I attend to other work.
“So, I think that’s a really good use of it.
“If you replicate yourself infinitely and across borders through a digital twin that you fully control, that is very good for business models,” she said.
She noted that the media industry must think in terms of systems rather than tools alone.
“AI is not a tool because you also need to think of it in terms of systems. You need to think in terms of what kind of problem does AI solve.
“So, linking back to our topic like what is the future of media in the age of AI when we can have digital twins of ourselves… That is very good for business models,” she said.
Empathy, ethics, and regulation
TL Global Insights founder and principal consultant Shelly Bryant emphasised that empathy remains a uniquely human strength that AI cannot replicate.
“I have to learn to see even from a perspective that I really dislike and then ask, ‘How would I feel in that situation? and try to be fair and equitable even to voices I disagree with and yet not let it take over.
“So that’s where the balance has to be and has always been. It’s not only in AI.
“We do it the same way we always did, push back, keep fighting the fight, keep trying to be objective, keep presenting, learn how to do it from people who have been doing it all their lives and who have been training people and telling us these are the skills that you use. So we learn the skills and then we keep using those skills,” she said.
Bryant also raised concerns over copyright violations in AI training datasets, particularly as example in Singapore, where she said that the works of marginalised writers, such as those in mother tongue languages, were being used without consent or compensation.
“Some of my own writing has been used to train AI without my permission. I didn’t get royalties. Nobody asked me.
“And so these discussions have been going on for several years, and the newest versions of ChatGPT are actually much more cautious about not violating copyright that they won’t provide lyrics or copyrighted text like they used to,” she added.
Steve also echoed the same sentiment saying that ongoing lawsuits in the US and Europe have prompted AI developers and platforms to adapt.
“OpenAI is facing multiple legal battles, and from that, companies like Perplexity and Claude are learning to partner with media organisations and use only authorised content.
“Right now, only authorised article, authorised research with certain name attached to that can be put into the platform.
“So I think to your questions, we cannot limit them right now for the time being, but I think working closely between media and the government, the policy makers, regulators – working together, ensuring that the copyright should belong to the country, should belong to its media – all these will protect its own data,” he said.
Career opportunities in the AI era & empowering storytelling through AI and media innovation
Armed with 15 years of experience in telecommunication, Steve said if a journalist wanted to explore a career opportunities during the AI era, there were vast opportunities of new career listed on Linkedin.
“I believe around two days ago, they posted one of the most interesting job position, and the name is audience design manager.
“To be perfectly honest with you, never in my career have I seen this kind of role. I mean, when I look at the job description, it is from one of the AI platform from the USA.
“It is meant to create such great connection between the audience, which is the people and the AI engineers on the back end,” he said.
In Southeast Asia, on the other hand, particularly Indonesia, Steve stated there was a lot of innovation that not quite adaptable at the moment to the Indonesian market.
“So for me, this kind of job position meant to be human first, not lean towards AI tools. AI tool is basically a route from the data engineer.
“But when it comes to audience first, there’s a lot of mediator kind of role that will appear in the next three or five years to come,” he added.
For those who are looking for side income, Steve also suggested working as an affiliate marketer, mainly because he witnessed a lot of university students and content creators working part time in the affiliate marketing.
“Its content is derived from user-generated input, but driven by AI to detect emerging trends.
“These tools are essential, not just to identify patterns, but to craft content that resonates and reveals untapped niches.
“Ultimately, it comes down to understanding the audience. Striking a balance between what creators produce and what the audience seeks will be a key challenge moving forward,” he added.
Shelly believed that storytellers who can understand and navigate algorithmic systems will thrive more than those who rely solely on AI to tell their stories.
“This distinction is important as we consider how humans and AI collaborate.
“When we talk about leadership and the roles we can create for ourselves in this evolving space, I reflect on three roles I’ve played in my career that embody this.
“The first role, though not a moneymaker, is foundational – being a poet. Poetry doesn’t begin with the pen or even the mind; it starts with the eye – with what and how we see.
“A poet notices the subtle, beautiful details others overlook, and that perspective is deeply human. This ability to feel moved by the mundane and express it with nuance sets us apart from AI,” she said.
Steve felt that in order for a media company to survive, diversifying its operation would be one of the better ways.
“For instance, Republika, one of Indonesia’s top print newspapers, now has not only transitioned fully into a digital platform, but they moved beyond newsroom to become event organiser, creating conferences, and intellectual property (IP) as a new source of revenue.
“One perfect example is their Muslim Influencer Conference, which is now an IP-registered event, giving them exclusive control over a growing niche,” he said.
On the journalism side, Steve acknowledged that some of his media friends have been breaking away from traditional institutions to become independent content creators.
“They are not just making viral content, they are doing deep research, and offering informed perspectives, often through podcasts or You Tube channels.
“These journalists leverage their investigative skills to identify trends and produce timely, relevant episodes, sometimes even naming corrupt officials.
“That is because they are independent, they have more freedom to speak openly and critically, backed by facts. And this honesty resonates with audiences and attracts brands, especially when the mainstream media often face sensorship.
“Ultimately, this new wave of independent journalism is finding success through audience trust and monetisation opportunities like ads and brand collections,” he added.
