Media's future tense in AI-driven world

An apartment door arrogantly demands a payment before it opens or closes — and threatens a lawsuit when an angry visitor tries to unscrew it. The scene from Philip K. Dick's science-fiction novel Ubik may have appeared fantastical when the book was published in 1969. But nearly six decades later, artificial intelligence-powered machines have brought the idea closer to reality. And if Elon Musk is right, AI would deliver "abundance" to the world.

For the media, that period of plenty has already arrived — with devastating effects. Across the world, traditional media organizations are struggling as algorithms, platforms and AI reshape how information is produced, distributed and consumed. The paradox is striking: while the abundance of information is creating enormous wealth for big tech companies, even enabling them to challenge sovereign powers, human society is besieged by information of uncertain credibility.