Media leaders discuss AI and truth in journalism at Solstice Speaker Series

The changing of the seasons has established a new tradition in Saskatchewan. For the past five years, the SGI Solstice Speaker Series, held at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina, has invited Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders, storytellers, and artists to share insights and stories on important contemporary issues, culture, and history.

Speakers have included artists like Tom Wilson and Raven Reid, national journalists like Lisa LaFlamme, Nelson Bird, and Creeson Agecoutay, and both past and present Eagle Feather News editors John Lagimodiere and Kerry Benjoe.

“The Solstice Speaker Series continues to be a powerful space of meaningful conversation, learning, and connection,” said Penny McCune, President and CEO of SGI.

“We’re proud to support initiatives like this that move beyond words and create real opportunities for understanding and reconciliation,” said McCune.

In the latest part of the series, former CTV National News Anchor and Senior Editor Lisa LaFlamme and Creeson Agecoutay, APTN National News Host and Producer, participated in a sold-out discussion entitled ‘Bearing Witness in Unsettled Times’.

In addition to sharing insights from the careers of LaFlamme and Agecoutay, the two journalists dug into complex issues like the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) on journalism, the continued importance of the Truth and Reconciliation’s (TRC) 94 Calls to Action, and reconciliation within the context of journalism.

“Being a young res kid from Cowessess in southern Saskatchewan, and having the opportunity to interview, introduce and have a speaking engagement with the one and only Lisa LaFlamme – she’s our rockstar in journalism,” said Agecoutay.

“Welcoming her to my community, where I went to school and where I started working, I thanked her personally for fulfilling this young res kid’s dream.”

With nearly two decades of experience in the industry, Agecoutay has been one of the faces of Indigenous journalism in the country, reporting hosting for CTV National News, APTN National News, CTV Regina/Saskatoon, Indigenous Circle, and Eagle Feather News.

He credits another Saskatchewan-born Indigenous journalist with helping to guide his career.

“Nelson Bird has been my mentor since day one,” he said.

“He told me when we got into the news, all he saw was the negative stories about Indigenous people, and wanted to do more positive stories. So I followed in his footsteps.”

While shifting the focus to more positive stories, Agecoutay said when he began reporting on Residential School and survivors, he was commonly met with skepticism from some of his bosses. He said the TRC Calls to Action helped open a lot of eyes, which has led to more open and honest reporting. But still denialism around Canada is still prevalent.

“You have different people or groups in legislative buildings, pushing back on Treaty education and the history of Residential schools. Denialism is still rampant across our country,” said Agecoutay.

“Thankfully, throughout my career, I’ve had Nelson (Bird) beside me. We stuck to our guns and put our feet down to fight for words of truth.”

That fight has now added a new dimension with the rapid emergence of AI in journalism. According to a Thompson Reuters report, almost 80 percent of newsrooms had not established a policy for AI, while 52 percent said it had significantly impacted their work. A majority of journalists, 62 percent, thinks AI represents a large or very large threat to journalism.

Audiences are also overwhelmingly concerned. According to a study from the Canadian Journalism Foundation, 88 percent of Canadians say they are concerned about AI deception in the news. And roughly half of Canadians report encountering misleading of false information daily or several times weekly.

“I believe there will be more job cuts, whether that be through production or more (TV) studios being handled by robots. A lot of production staff has come and gone,” said Agecoutay.

“With AI, there’s no soul there. There’s so many inaccuracies. But some of it is getting a lot more believable.”

During the Solstice Speaker Series, Agecoutay and LaFlamme talked about how AI can take a news release and flip it into a fairly interesting story. But this kind of content misses a key part good journalism, said Agecoutay.

“The relationship building in takes to do a good story, talking to victims or experts, there’s a lot of relationship building that goes into journalism. Those are human tasks. AI can’t do that,” he said.

“There’s also the emotion, the heart, when a person is behind a keyboard writing a story. Us humans tend to find the emotion and the heart when telling a story, and AI isn’t there yet.”

That vital human element to his work is what has kept him dedicated to his craft for the last 18 years. Agecoutay has reported on historic developments like the unmarked graves found around the country, the northern suicide epidemic, traditional healing centres, and the world’s biggest powwow in New Mexico. With any story, he’s guided by a passion to find and share truth.

“What gets me out of bed everyday is that I get to tell everyone more about who Indigenous people are, where they come from, and their contributions to this country,” said Agecoutay.

“This fight for equality. We see so many inequalities that need to be fixed. I wake up everyday and come with that mindset to the newsroom.”