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Radio personality and DJ of Barangay LS 97.1 Jairuz "Papa Dudut" Ricafrente discussed the state of radio amid A.I. applications on Friday, March 8 during the 11th edition of the PUP Radio Conference.


He gave emphasis during the initial part of his talk on how Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) has taken over and influenced the lives of Filipino people during the pandemic.

"Many of us relied on social media and became plantitas during the pandemic," Papa Dudut jested to the crowd.

He also urged the students not to see A.I. as a threat but rather, a development in the media industry and that radio only embraces the development of applications.

"Maraming sumusulpot na A.I. applications pero walang content kung hindi mag-i-input ang tao," he stated.

Papa Dudut also debunked such claims that A.I. applications are already defeating traditional radio. He clarified that it cannot happen due to the reason that traditional radio is free while some A.I. applications require payment from the users.

Further, he noted the disparity between the accessibility of traditional radio in contrast with the A.I. applications.

"Basta may radio, kung walang kuryente [at may] battery, may greetings ka, by dedication pa," he said.

When asked during the question and answer portion if he fears that someday, A.I. will take over his job as a DJ, Papa Dudut profoundly believes that it is impossible. Although he said that they use A.I. in the industry, the success of Barangay LS is not solely because of it but with the diligence of his co-workers.

"A.I. can mimic our voices, but not the memories radios brought to our house," Papa Dudut said in the middle of his discussion.


AI IN THE NEWSROOM

UP Journalism Department Associate Professor and Bulatlat Multimedia Associate Editor Danilo Arao also took the center stage as he presided over the discussion about the A.I. in the newsroom.

According to professor Arao, A.I. is already present with the launching of ChatGPT, an A.I. generated tool wherein one can engage in a human-like conversation with a bot. The software is also often used for quick composition of essays and other sorts of written output.

The professor also elaborated on the aid of A.I. along with its disadvantages. He said that when misused, it can result in retrenchment of journalists at work.

“Walang masama gumamit ng A.I. pero dapat hindi [nito] na-di-distract ang content,” Arao stated.

He then emphasized that one trait A.I. cannot imitate from humans is being sentient. He explained that unlike men, “it cannot make judgment.”

“It can only make analysis but often descriptive. Only humans can make critical judgment,” he added.

Arao also cited examples of media organizations who attempted to use A.I., one is the A.I. sportscaster introduced by GMA Sports before the 99th Season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) kicked off last year, drawing alarm from the netizens and journalists.

“Contextualization cannot be A.I. driven dahil ang pagsusuri ay depende sa lalim ng ating pag-intindi,” the professor said.

Spearheaded by the DZMC Young Communicators Guild, the 10th Anniversary of the PUP Radio Conference (RCon) was conducted at the Tanghalang PUP inside the PUP College of Communication on March 8, Friday.

Focusing on its theme RBOT: Decoding Media's Fate in the Age of A.I., the 11th edition of the PUP Rcon centers on how the radio industry thrives amid A.I. presence.

Denise Dinsay of ABS-CBN opened the event with her virtual keynote speech reminding the attendees not to treat A.I. as a barrier but instead, use it as a tool.

Further, a total of 600 students from various universities nationwide attended the said event.