The story of journalism has been one of acceleration, marked by increasing expectations to do more with less — to produce more news, participate on more platforms, and reach more diverse audiences. The rise of AI offers a constitutive moment, perhaps even a 'breaking point', for journalism: a junction where journalists are confronting existential questions about their roles, routines, and relationships. AI is transforming how we create, access, and make sense of information, and challenging journalism's longstanding authority. What is happening, why, and with what consequences?

This book critically examines what AI means for journalists, audiences, and the future of news. Exploring questions about human labor and creativity, platform power and democratic accountability, and literacy and learning, the book grapples with existential concerns about the roles of humans and machines in media production, distribution, and consumption. In doing so, the authors explore how this transformative moment also offers an opportunity to break away from tired routines, re-evaluate what it means to do good work, and harness this emerging technology in ways that serve the public good.

Written for students, media professionals, and anyone interested in journalism, this book makes the case for why this moment is uniquely significant for understanding journalism and public life.

Seth C. Lewis is the inaugural Elcan Jefferson Scholars Foundation Distinguished Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Media Studies at the University of Virginia.

Rodrigo Zamith is Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Tomás Dodds is Assistant Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.