Women Adopt AI Faster Than Men in Journalism
amsterdam, vrijdag, 5 september 2025.
According to research from Harvard Business School, women in journalism are adopting generative AI more quickly than men. This difference is attributed to the ‘good girl syndrome’, where women often wait for permission before using new technologies, while men experiment spontaneously. This trend has significant implications for the future of the media industry and how news is produced and distributed.
Difference in AI Adoption Between Men and Women
According to research from Harvard Business School, women in journalism are adopting generative AI more quickly than men. This study showed that women use generative AI at work on average 25 per cent less than men. This difference is attributed to the ‘good girl syndrome’, where women often wait for permission before using new technologies, while men experiment spontaneously [1].
Impact on the Media Industry
This trend has significant implications for the future of the media industry. The use of generative AI can significantly increase the speed and efficiency of news production. However, waiting for permission can lead to delays in implementing this technology, potentially disadvantaging them against faster adopters [1].
Application of AI in Journalism
Generative AI is used in journalism for various purposes, including the automatic generation of news articles, analysis of large datasets, and personalisation of news content for individual readers. A recent example is how four major Flemish magazines generated articles using AI without informing their readers. This incident has raised concerns about transparency and ethics in journalism [2].
Advantages and Disadvantages
The use of AI in journalism offers several advantages, such as reducing production costs, increasing the speed at which news is disseminated, and improving the accuracy of data analysis. However, there are also significant disadvantages and ethical considerations. A meta-analysis in Nature Human Behaviour showed that the combination of human and AI often performs worse than humans alone or AI alone, especially in decision-making tasks such as medical diagnoses or financial choices [5].
Ethical Considerations
The adoption of AI in journalism also raises ethical questions. Transparency is crucial, as readers have the right to know whether an article was written by a human or AI. Additionally, AI-generated systems can repeat and reinforce biases embedded in the data, potentially damaging the integrity of the news [2].
Future Perspectives
The future of journalism will be significantly influenced by how AI is implemented and regulated. Investment in content and technology is essential to keep up with the digital transformation of the press. Nguyen Van Ba, editor-in-chief of the newspaper VietnamNet, emphasised that investing in content and technology is a prerequisite for the digital transformation of the press [3].