DUBAI: Global media houses recognize that people from the region are the best to cover the news happening here, said CNN Arabic Services Vice President Caroline Faraj on Tuesday.

“This region invested in its youth and its education whether you are educated here or abroad, we have a cultured multilingual youth that understands the perspective of this region.

“This attracted global media outlets to come and hire this talent from the country itself,” she added during a session at the Arab Media Summit.

“When global media outlets need the truth, they go for the locals for our special talent,” added Faraj.

Faraj said authenticity in news gathering remains vital, in whatever language it occurs.

She said CNN was still adapting to artificial intelligence technology and warned that checks and balances are still needed.

“We still need people to be editors and to verify what AI is doing,” said Faraj.

Arab News’ Editor-in-Chief Faisal Abbas said on the technology: “AI is a reality; it’s a fact and it’s not something that is going to happen in the future.

“People talk about the concerns and challenges, but AI is an opportunity … There is no problem with AI, there is a problem with the lack of natural intelligence to use it.”

Maha Eldahan, Reuters’ Gulf bureau chief, added: “We can’t use AI without a human touch, we can’t publish an article that was translated by AI without checking it and I don’t think this will ever happen.”

Abbas added: “We are utilizing AI softwares to help cut down on cost and time, it can help us produce the same amount of work in half the time and for virtually no cost at all, so we need to be able to harness this technology for our benefit.”