Moscow, the capital of Russia, hosted a forum on media and artificial intelligence to mark the 65th anniversary of OANA’s founding. The program, organized by TASS, focused on AI’s role in news production, protecting professional standards and combating disinformation.
TASS Director General Andrey Kondrashov, OANA Secretary General and TASS Deputy Director General Marat Abulhatin, and representatives of OANA member organizations took part in the panels held at a hotel. Anadolu Agency Deputy Director General and Editor-in-Chief Yusuf Özhan and AA Director of Strategic Communications and Brand Management Hazal Duran also attended the program.
Human oversight and editorial responsibility
The panel titled “Media and Artificial Intelligence: Methodology and Ethics in the Digital Age” was moderated by Yaroslav Kurilo, an adviser to the head of TASS’s International Relations Department. Yusuf Özhan said artificial intelligence plays a role not only in discovering, preparing and distributing news, but also in shaping the public agenda.
According to Özhan, the fundamental issue for media organizations is not whether to engage with artificial intelligence, but how to use the technology responsibly. Özhan said AI contributes to news writing and monitoring, translation, transcription, image generation and editorial workflows, while emphasizing that human oversight must be preserved.
Özhan said artificial intelligence can process large datasets and automate repetitive tasks, adding that the technology can identify potential news stories in a short time. However, he said humans remain responsible for understanding an event’s context, assessing its significance for the public and making editorial decisions.
Copyright and data privacy on the agenda
Özhan said the sources of the data used by artificial intelligence systems, the use of copyrighted materials and the rights of people who create original works must be addressed.
Özhan said it must be made clear how sensitive data will be protected when personal information is collected and processed, highlighting the importance of data privacy. He also said audiences should know whether artificial intelligence was used in the content presented to them.
Anadolu Agency’s use of artificial intelligence
Özhan said Anadolu Agency uses artificial intelligence in its daily operations and content production, explaining that its news-monitoring module scans large volumes of social media content to identify developments that may have news value. The system presents potential news stories to editors and reporters for assessment.
Özhan said AA Technology was established to strengthen the agency’s technological capacity and develop innovative solutions for the media sector. He said they aim to integrate artificial intelligence more effectively into workflows, improve operational efficiency and support journalism’s digital transformation.
Özhan said artificial intelligence can help important developments be identified more quickly, but emphasized that final editorial decisions cannot be left to the technology. He said accuracy, reliability, editorial responsibility, robust verification mechanisms, transparent practices and human judgment must be preserved.
News agency representatives share common priorities
Enkh-Orshikh Khurlee, director general of Mongolia’s MONTSAME news agency, said artificial intelligence can make mistakes and that the final decision must belong to a human. Khurlee also said journalists need to acquire new skills, use artificial intelligence and verify information.
Nguyen Duc Vu, director of the Technical Center at the Vietnam News Agency, said artificial intelligence should be used carefully during work. He also said restricting access to some information was important.
Amanpreet Singh, editor-in-chief of India’s Press Trust of India news agency, warned that artificial intelligence could move beyond human oversight. Moriyasu Chikazawa, director of the International Relations Department at Japan’s Kyodo News, said artificial intelligence supported their work, but that the decision should still be made by humans.
Cooperation discussed among agencies
During the forum, Yusuf Özhan held separate meetings with officials from the Vietnam News Agency and the Saudi Press Agency. The meetings, also attended by Hazal Duran, addressed cooperation between Anadolu Agency and the two agencies.
