Malte Storm Madsen from Journalism at SDU received our DDC thesis grant to work on his master’s thesis
Malte Storm Madsen from Journalism at the University of Southern Denmark received support from our DDC thesis grant to work on his master’s thesis titled "Artificial Intelligence in Danish Sports Confederation," which he successfully submitted and defended earlier this summer. Here, he investigated the reception of news articles produced collaboratively by artificial intelligence (AI) and a human consultant.
In reflecting on his experience, Malte explains what receiving the grant meant for his work on his master’s thesis: “I was fortunate to receive the DDC thesis grant for my project on 'Artificial Intelligence in Danish Sports Confederation.' The grant enabled me to utilize the latest type of artificial intelligence, significantly enhancing the academic value of my results. It allowed me to focus on fine-tuning the empirical data and achieving a result that was not only good but also academically relevant and a valuable contribution to the literature on artificial intelligence in journalism and communication”
You can read more about his interesting project and findings in the abstract below.
Abstract:
This thesis explores the reception of news articles produced collaboratively by artificial intelligence (AI) and a human consultant within the context of Danish Sports Confederation (DIF). The primary focus is on how audiences perceive AI-generated media content compared to human-written content. A qualitative reception analysis was conducted using a series of six articles published on DIF's website, half written solely by the author and the other half co-written with ChatGPT-4. Each pair of articles addressed the same topic across three sports: boxing, cricket, and gliding.
The analysis of the 10 qualitative interviews revealed a general preference for human-written articles, which were seen as more engaging and better suited to the diverse audience of DIF. Participants appreciated the detailed explanations and lively language of the human-written pieces, which were more inclusive even to those not interested in sports. Conversely, AI-inspired articles were often criticized for lacking depth and clarity, although they were efficient in presenting factual information.
This study contributes to the understanding of audience perceptions in the evolving landscape of AI-assisted journalism, highlighting the strengths and limitations of AI in media production. It underscores the importance of human touch in content creation, especially in engaging and educating a broad readership.