Dataphyte led a showcase session on the use of human intelligence and artificial intelligence tools for data collection and story-telling held at 20th edition of the African Investigative Journalism Conference (AIJC) organised by the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg South Africa.
In her presentation, Ibilolia Akahome, the organisation’s Business Development Lead, presented two innovative products by Dataphyte – Nubia and Goloka – designed to help journalists and researchers embark on their research.
Akahome noted that Goloka is a platform designed for the collection, aggregation and processing of data gathered through human intelligence to transform it into versions that can easily be understood and processed for insights. The platform is enhanced with the capacity to process insights from primary data into comprehensive reports or analyses that show key findings and recommendations for future research for businesses, government institutions and project management.
On Nubia, Akahome described it as an AI-powered tool designed to create stories and reports based on the insights it gathers from data provided to the platform. The platform is also designed to help users, especially journalists, make meaning out of complex data in record time.
Akahome noted that together, both tools are designed to enhance the capacity of journalists and researchers to effectively combine human intelligence and Artificial Intelligence tools in the exercise of their tasks, improving speed, accuracy and efficiency.
Other sessions at the conference from October 30 and November 1 focused on topical issues within the media ecosystem on the continent ranging from attacks on journalists and the use of data for storytelling, to media ethics and the use of AI tools in journalism.
An Extensive Conference
On October 31, Michela Wrong, self-employed journalist and writer, delivered a keynote presentation titled: Surviving the surveillance state – lessons from Rwanda. Drawing from her experience, she spoke about the ongoing state-sponsored attempts to shut down dissenting voices in Rwanda. After the publication of her book: Do Not Disturb: The story of a political murder and an African regime gone bad, Michela had to stay away from the country as she continued to speak and write against the Rwandan dictatorship.
She also highlighted multiple instances where the Rwandan government and its agents have deployed tactics like spreading false claims about sex scandals to discredit her personality and limit the platforms accessible for her to speak in other countries where they have influence.
In one of the sessions after her keynote speech, Gabriel Geiger of Lighthouse Reports headlined a panel session where he presented a beginner’s guide to reporting on Artificial Intelligence. His session started by presenting a historical evolution of the technology before explaining how journalists should report on it and how it affects various aspects of human society.
In another session, Ekaterina Selivanova of OCCRP and Nigeria’s Philip Obaji of Daily Beast shared their experience about Russia in Africa amid the growing struggle for influence on the continent among global powers. Philip highlighted several cases of human rights abuse by Russian mercenaries across the Sahel that he has documented, including his personal experience as a victim of physical attacks while reporting.
Also, Humangle’s former Investigations Editor, Kunle Adebajo presented a session on creative approaches to data stories. Drawing lessons from his SIGMA-winning data report that mapped graves across northern Nigeria, he presented a step-by-step approach to writing compelling stories using data as the central framework of the narrative.
Unsafe Climate for Journalists
The political climate in Africa is still unsafe for journalists, a statement released at the end of the conference and adopted by the over 450 participants present indicated. “Many journalists still work in life-threatening conditions. We are still being subjects of killings for speaking the truth about corruption and human rights violations, we are subject to physical and digital attacks and in some cases, the objectives of these attacks are to prejudice and incentivise disinformation and hate against us and our work,’’ the statement read.
To change this reality, journalists called on government, civil society and media freedom organisations to commit to creating a safer environment for journalists to carry out their responsibilities.
