Some South African newsrooms still whisper about artificial intelligence (AI) like it’s a scandal, right before publishing AI policies so vague they might as well not exist.
We’re saying it publicly and unapologetically:
- Yes, we use AI.
- Yes, we’ve built a stack.
- Yes, we wrote an AI policy.
- Yes, we’re saying it with our full chest.
Because it’s 2025. AI is here. And journalism isn’t powerful because it resists change. It’s powerful because it evolves.
Welcome to the part where we stop pretending and say the quiet parts out loud.
TechNation News AI Policy
We didn’t put out a vague “we’re exploring AI” statement. We published a full, transparent, publicly available editorial policy. And it’s absolutely, unapologetically pro-AI.
We believe artificial intelligence, when used responsibly, can support better journalism and storytelling.
AI should never replace human editors or journalists. But it can be used to enhance the way we create. To brainstorm, ask better questions, spot patterns, and automate the boring parts.
Let’s be real: AI isn’t going to replace you. But someone who knows how to use it better than you? Absolutely. And that’s entirely on you. You can’t even blame the robot uprising for that.
The Tech Nation News stack
Anyone can talk big about AI. And many do. How about we just show you what that looks like at the Tech Nation newsroom, yeah?
Behold! Our very own tech and AI stack! The actual tools we use to research, plan, write, fact-check, visualise, automate, and build in public.
You won’t find every single trick we use, because we believe in earned knowledge. But you will get an inside look at what powers our newsroom.
👉 Explore the TechNation Stack
Pet peeve time: AI is not just ChatGPT!
For the love of Sithis! Can we please stop acting like asking ChatGPT to rewrite a headline and checking typos qualifies as “using AI?” No. Just… no.
We’re not mad. Just disappointed (but also mad).
Sure, you can use ChatGPT for headlines and grammar tweaks. But it takes more than a “fix this” command. Prompting is a craft, and doing it well is an actual skill. Context matters.
You need to refine the output, train it, guide it, and double-check it. Without all those basic steps, it’s just going to be a case of “garbage in, garbage out.”
And that’s a human error, by the way… Not a machine error. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
AI is an ecosystem. ChatGPT is one tool. ONE. That’s it. If your entire AI journey starts and ends there, you need to log off. Go take a nap. Come back later.
AI myths
You’ll find a deeper breakdown inside the full AI Policy, but here’s the short version:
‘AI is the death of editorial integrity’
Let’s be real. Generative AI isn’t the problem. The real threat? People who don’t know how to use it. Editors who still think integrity comes from fear or nostalgia.
The real threat is the same group of people, with the same skin tones, rewriting the same set of rules and gatekeeping everything from everyone else.
So, no. AI isn’t “the end of journalism”. It’s just a threat to the comfortable little clubs that thought they’d stay in charge forever.
P.S. Ever wonder why men panic about the robot apocalypse more than women? 😉 We’ve seen what real loss of autonomy looks like. We don’t fear what’s already familiar.
‘AI makes mistakes’
True. AI chatbots used to get things wrong all the time. It’s better now, but it’s still not perfect.
You know who else makes mistakes? Tired people. Underpaid interns. Columnists on deadline. Editors who haven’t checked a fact since 2012.
AI can catch what your copy desk missed at 3 am.
‘AI is IP theft!’
No, using AI tools doesn’t automatically violate intellectual property (IP) laws.
Theft happens due to bad workflows and unethical practices. Not because AI itself inherently steals.
Prompt properly to generate your original work. Credit sources. Don’t steal copyrighted material. This isn’t hard.
Misinformation and fake news
No, AI itself doesn’t spread misinformation. Come now, it’s not sentient yet. Unscrupulous people spread misinformation and fake news.
Sure, AI makes it easier for them. That’s why human judgment matters more than ever.
So, no, we don’t lose sleep over imaginary crises, manufactured panic, and industry tantrums. And we’re not worried about how the end of journalistic integrity is nigh.
We are just over here, too busy building something useful.
