Communication in the Context of Artificial Intelligence: Opportunities, Risks and Threats

If artificial intelligence is compared, in social terms, to the steam engines of the Industrial Revolution, data is the raw material it needs to operate. The growth of digital storage capacity and computing power now allows AI to engage with the social and cognitive world. Learning machines can discover collective patterns through user experience, giving the “tool” a continually updated view of its audience at the individual level. Transformation is especially visible where outputs support economic expectations, and many communication and information practices are likely to evolve as machine capabilities expand. Understanding and making visible the technical capacities of AI in communication is therefore important for scientific awareness. The study examines widely used AI applications and near-term projections through their opportunities, risks and threats for communication tools, individuals and news organizations. The use of machines in standard information production has already proved workable in real-world scenarios; routine news writing and personalized news versions indicate how news production may change. Platforms increasingly integrate AI into communication processes through complex cybernetic links to improve engagement and profitability. Technology has acquired the capacity to alter not only modes of production but also news production, information distribution and, in part, reality itself. Through comparative examples, the study makes the presence of AI in communication visible across several dimensions.