AI in Journalism: Two-Day DRU–Gameplify Workshop Concludes Saturday
A two-day workshop on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in journalism—focusing on challenges, opportunities, risks, and digital security—organized by Gameplify for members of the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU), will conclude on Saturday afternoon, December 27. The closing session of the workshop, being held at the Shafiqul Kabir Auditorium of the DRU, will be attended by the Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary, Shafiqul Alam.
On the first day, Friday, the opening session focused on prompt-writing techniques in journalism, improving professional standards and skills through the use of Google LLMs, and hands-on training in AI-powered audio transcription as well as creating images, audio, and video using tools such as Banana AI. The session was conducted by Ariful Islam Arman, Head of New Initiatives at Dhaka Post.
Arman emphasized that AI is not a replacement for journalists but a supportive tool. “Whether AI works like a housemaid or a washing machine depends entirely on the prompt,” he said, adding that clearly communicating one’s needs to AI can significantly reduce time spent on tasks such as story planning, data collection, and verification. He noted that effective prompts should clearly define the task, objectives, format, sources, journalistic ethics—such as neutrality, accuracy, sensitivity, and public interest—and structure. “The better the prompt, the better the output,” he said.
The second session of the day, which began with an interactive Kahoot game, focused on AI-powered data journalism. Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) Assistant Professor of Mass Communication and Journalism Maliha Tabassum led the session, guiding participants through the complexities of data-driven reporting. She explained how data can be manipulated to create misleading narratives, using a chocolate-related research case study to illustrate her points.
Maliha described three types of falsehoods—lies, damned lies, and statistical lies—and stressed the importance of verifying data before building stories around numbers. Through hands-on demonstrations using tools such as Flourish AI, Napkin AI, Google Pinpoint, and data pinpointing and source-mapping tools, she showed how journalists can move beyond raw data to contextual interpretation and present stories in engaging, multi-dimensional formats.
Earlier, during the inauguration, Gameplify XYZ Founder and Chairman Mashirur Rahman, in a video message, said journalists are working in an era where the speed of news dissemination is faster than ever, but misinformation is also spreading at an unprecedented rate. “In this reality, AI is both a huge opportunity and a significant risk,” he said. He reiterated that AI can never replace journalists, but can enhance their capabilities by identifying trends, uncovering hidden story potentials within data, and revealing patterns that may otherwise go unnoticed. “Understanding ground realities, reading human emotions, and making ethical decisions will always remain the journalist’s responsibility,” he added.
He further noted that ethics, verification, and digital safety have now become the core pillars of journalism, expressing hope that Bangladeshi journalists will grow into globally competitive digital professionals.
The workshop inauguration was chaired by DRU General Secretary Mainul Hasan Sohel, with a welcome address by Gameplify Managing Director Mahfuzur Rahman. The programme is being conducted by DRU Information Technology and Training Editor Mahmud Sohel, while coordination duties are being handled by DRU member Mohammad Imam Hossain Sohel.
Several DRU leaders were present to encourage the participants, including Vice-President Mehdi Azad Masum, Joint Secretary Md Jafar Iqbal, Organising Secretary MM Jasim, Office Secretary Rashim Molla, Hospitality Editor Aminul Haque Bhuiyan, and Executive Committee members Al-Amin Azad, Suman Chowdhury, and Md Mazaharul Islam.
DBTech/IH/EK/OR
