The Real Questions Behind “Putting It All on AI”

The Inevitability of the AI Revolution

In April 2026, the Nikkei published a series of interviews with global and domestic experts as part of its Newspaper Week project. I was one of those interviewed, but it was the interviews with the CEOs of the Yomiuri Shimbun and the Asahi Shimbun that really attracted social media attention—triggering a far greater stir online than the “old media” had been able to for quite a while.

That discussion is particularly focused on Asahi Shimbun President Tsunoda Katsu’s comments about “Putting it all on AI,” when discussing the planned use of artificial intelligence tools in journalism. On the other hand, Yomiuri Shimbun President Yamaguchi Toshikazu took a more cautious stance, saying, “We shouldn’t be so quick to use it in reporting and journalism.” This contrast caused quite a stir among journalists and commentators.

What interests me more than the difference between these two executives’ statements, though, is the reaction of those on the receiving end. Journalists, particularly those who had previously written for newspapers, were unanimous in rejecting the idea of embracing AI, while users and commentators from other industries either voices support or seemed surprised that this was even a conversation at such a late date. In my opinion, this contrast is a better reflection of the state of the news media.

You may have heard the saying, “Technology will always win,” which originated with former Intel CEO Andy Grove. It sums up how, even if you can slow down adoption through legal or other means, in the end technology’s use cannot be stopped. I see it in much the same way. With advancement happening as quickly as it is right now, there is simple no safe place where you can keep away from AI. Even if you don’t use it yourself, AI is going to inevitably change the environment around us: the structure of our information systems, the behavior of consumers, and the competitive environment. With the understanding that “AI will always win,” the more productive discussion becomes how to restructure our business models.

To begin with, the use of AI will not necessarily reduce the value of human journalists. There can be coexistence between AI use and journalism. The humans can focus on journalistic work that only they can do, like interviews and location reporting, while they use technology to help create even better content. There is no inconsistency in that. That is why the question of whether to use AI in the first place seems off the mark. Many Japanese industries, not just manufacturing, have been automating work since long before AI appeared. With generative AI now fully available, all kinds of industries are in the middle of digital transformation and other workflow improvements. Compared to those, the news media having the conversation of whether to use AI in 2026 seems downright idyllic.

Roles that Humans Must Play

I first started talking about the mechanization of journalism and promoting the idea of coexistence between journalism and business through technology around 2016, when I started the AI-risk reporting service FastAlert. I cannot deny that my deliberately using the word “mechanization” has caused quite a stir in the past. But my intention has never been to destroy human work and replace it with machinery. I only believe that we need to create spaces where we let machines do what they can, and leave the humans to do what only they are capable of. I was trying to put into words what I see as a lack in the industry, speaking as a news fanatic who loves newspapers—in other words, as a demanding reader.

In the background of my intentionally challenging use of that phrasing was what I see as an extraordinary characteristic of the news media. Compared to other industries, it retains a workflow that is overwhelmingly analog and relies on simply throwing people at tasks.

News organizations believe in a division between editorial and management operations. The ideal is that management should have no direct say in journalistic reporting and editing, leading to very little interaction between the business and journalism sides. That structure has played an important role in preserving journalistic independence. However, another outcome has been that the news industry suffers from a lack of coordination between production and sales, a commonplace idea in other industries.

In a manufacturing context, it would be inconceivable for the production and sales departments to be so divided that they had no interaction at all. Manufacturers use sales and market feedback from the planning and development stages, determining the best way to create a product that the market will accept. That also lets the sales side consider the best way to deliver that product to those who want it—in other words, a consumer-driven approach.

But newspapers have long been weak on this idea. They have struggled to deal with the otherwise standard cycle of watching changes in readership and the market, then optimizing their organization in consideration of what product to make, or how to make and deliver it, to fit those changes. The result is a pronounced delay in digitalization and mechanization by news organizations compared to other industries, leaving them with a business model weighed down by high labor costs and dropping profits and influence.

So, when the newspaper head plants his flag and says he is going all in on AI, that likely reflects the danger he sees in those structural issues. The real question isn’t the simple choice between AI or people. It’s how to increase the quality and amount of human output, with AI use as a given. It’s how to become a service that consumers will once more support. And, it is how to ensure sustainability while overcoming the industry’s unique structural limits. Those are the questions that the news industry has to address.

(Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: Softbank Group Chairman and CEO Son Masayoshi announcing a joint venture with US tech giant OpenAI to provide advanced AI solutions to businesses on February 3, 2025, in Tokyo. © AFP/Jiji.)