00:00Now is the time for us all to come together.
00:03Widespread adoption of social media platforms, digital platforms and AI
00:08is going to cause us great consequences
00:11unless we increase AI literacy.
00:15If we don't get this right now
00:17we are going to really feel the impacts of this
00:20for many decades to come.
00:25The third Shushu Global Media Forum
00:27strengthening information and media resilience in the age of AI
00:30opened with a clear warning.
00:32A digital transformation is underway
00:34and our response must be informed, ethical and urgent.
00:38AI is both a threat and an opportunity.
00:40It's a threat if it's not used properly,
00:42if it's used in a way that diminishes the public's trust in the media
00:47and it's an opportunity if it's used to enhance the newsroom,
00:50if it's used to streamline some processes.
00:53Held on the 150th anniversary of Azerbaijan's first newspaper,
00:56the forum gathered over 140 guests from 52 countries,
01:00including 30 plus news agencies and seven international organizations
01:05to address the rapid evolution of media in the digital age.
01:09Shushu Media Forum already became a traditional
01:14so I hope that this tradition will continue
01:17and by the time passes we have more guests,
01:20more geographical coverage
01:22and this once again shows that there is a big need for open discussions
01:29in the friendly atmosphere on the most important topics,
01:34not only the agenda of media communities but issues of global agenda.
01:40Discussions at the forum explored how nations can build media literacy
01:44and safeguard accuracy while navigating disruption.
01:47Get on board or you will be left behind
01:49because fundamentally the people that will thrive are the people that adapt,
01:53the people that take these new technologies, new skills on board.
01:57For countries like Azerbaijan, the digital media revolution is also a moment of global connection,
02:02strengthening links between local voices and global narratives and how to work with AI.
02:08We are very proud that a lot of international journalists and media professionals are coming to Azerbaijan
02:13exchanging ideas, recommendations and their experiences, including their mistakes as well.
02:19AI is a reality of the new world.
02:21We cannot fight against the AI.
02:22It's a technological development.
02:24Fighting AI, it means that we are fighting against innovation, against technology.
02:28But we should adapt ourselves, how we can work together with AI,
02:32how we can effectively employ it for the benefit of the new mankind,
02:36including the professional journalism and media.
02:38As the digital age redraws the map of influence,
02:41new regions are stepping forward to lead the conversation.
02:44In a world of fragmented narratives, I believe we need more spaces like this.
02:50The Caucasus and also Central Asia are no longer peripheral, let's say, regions of the global narratives
02:59and they are in the heart, how to say, of this connectivity.
03:05I mean, they are emerging like hubs for connectivity, for energy and even for geopolitics.
03:13When truth becomes uncertain, every pillar of society feels a strain.
03:17If we don't get this right, the public, the citizens won't know what's right or wrong.
03:24So it means that governments will struggle to communicate their messages.
03:29Companies will struggle to promote their products, you know, and journalism will be under threat.
03:36Those who gathered here will return to newsrooms, classrooms and boardrooms across the world
03:41with a clearer sense of what's at stake.
03:44I wish I could see people making better decisions for themselves based on accurate and trustworthy information.
03:55If the goal is better decisions built on truth, the challenge begins with how we educate the next generation
04:01and the habits they're already forming.
04:03What we're finding, and I'm finding this with my own students and work with young people,
04:07is that it's becoming the go-to.
04:10So thinking about tasks and learning how to do the task and then maybe using AI to collaborate on that task,
04:16it's not happening.
04:17So over time, students and younger people are just going to that platform.
04:21For things as simple as introducing themselves in a class activity,
04:26then they can't sort of think and bring the words together.
04:28So it's impacting professional writing and creativity, critical thought, all these sort of aspects
04:33where we need our young people to be the subject matter experts before they go to AI and use it for that task.
04:41The Third Shooter Media Forum didn't just discuss the future of journalism, it helped shape it.
04:46And for those watching closely, one message was clear.
04:50Adapt fast, work together and build resilience for a digital age that won't wait.
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