We have the honour to announce Esther Paniagua as our second keynote speaker for the Annual Meeting 2023. With her outstanding contributions to science, technology, and cybersecurity she will be an enrichment for our Meeting.

Esther Paniagua is journalist, author, lecturer and speaker. She has been honored as one of the “Top 100 Women Leaders of Spain” and as one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business” by Forbes.

Paniagua speaks on topics related to digital governance, tech ethics, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. Additionally, Esther teaches AI Journalism at the Rey Juan Carlos University’s master’s degree program in Investigative Journalism, New Narratives, Data, Fact-checking, and Transparency.

During MediaFutures Annual Meeting she will discuss the future of journalism in the age of AI.

Keynote abstract

Gradually and then suddenly, AI has erupted into the media landscape. As we navigate this transformative era, pressing questions arise: Can AI fulfill its promises of enhancing work efficiency, boosting audience engagement, generating substantial economic gains, and liberating journalists from repetitive tasks? Or does it pose a threat to the very fabric of journalism, within the backdrop of precariousness and content plundering?

This keynote aims to unravel the complex web of AI’s -and more specifically LLM’s- impact on journalism, scaling automatic content generation and the proliferation of deepfakes in an already ‘infoxicated’ ecosystem. By exploring both utopian and dystopian scenarios, we seek to

1) provide insights into the potential futures that media and journalism face and

2) provide proposals, from an ethical and responsible media perspective, to ensure that Journalism thrives (and does not die) in the AI age.

MediaFutures third Annual Meeting

Media Futures Annual Meeting 2023 will be held at November 16-17 at Media City Bergen, Norway.

This year’s focus topic are Generative AI and the EU AI Act. In particular, we are interested in tackling questions related to as to what extent Generative AI and the EU AI Act will have an impact on the future of the media.

Esther Paniaguas keynote speech will be held on day 1 at 14.15. 

MediaFutures is a centre for research-based innovation with the goal to develop responsible media technology, leveraging AI technology, for the media sector.

The centre is a consortium of the most important media players in Norway. The University of Bergen is the host of the centre. User partners include NRK and TV 2, the two main TV broadcasters in Norway, Schibsted, including Bergens Tidende (BT), and Amedia, the two largest news media houses in Scandinavia/Norway, as well as the world-renowned Norwegian media tech companies Vizrt, Highsoft and the global tech and media player IBM. The centre collaborates with renowned national research institutions including the University of Oslo, the University of Stavanger and NORCE, and works together with high-profile international research institutions.

The 2023 Annual Meeting constitutes a forum for the exchange of scientific results and industry insights within the field of responsible media technology.

You can read more about MediaFutures Annual Meeting 2023 here.