The watchdog of AI: writing ethically about artificial intelligence while challenging power and distortions

This workshop is designed to provide a critical orientation within the complex landscape of artificial intelligence, moving between triumphalist announcements, futuristic promises, media exaggerations, and the actual capabilities of today’s technologies. The goal is twofold: on one hand, to deconstruct dominant narratives by questioning the very definitions of “intelligence” and “artificiality,” addressing both real and perceived risks, technical, epistemological, and ethical limits, as well as the most widespread applications; on the other, to reflect on the role of journalism in this rapidly evolving scenario. If journalism has historically acted as a “watchdog” for democracy and the protection of rights, it becomes essential to ask: how might artificial intelligence threaten or redefine these fundamental principles? Who are the public and private actors holding technological and decision-making power? And what critical and professional tools are needed to address, report on, and monitor these processes with awareness and rigor?