Will Derryn Hinch be replaced by a robot? / Hinch Live Sky Business TV
Will computers take over the newsroom? was the question that prompted Derryn Hinch, of Hinch Live Sky Business TV, to want to chat about the Future of Robots.
In this lively discussion Derryn and I explore all things Robots, looking at the future of robots in the workplace, in the home, on the road, in the skies and in our lives and ponder what the world of 2025 and beyond might look like.
A great chat so have a watch now (10 minutes 39 secs), then share it around and let me know your thoughts on the future of robots.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What has AI actually replaced in journalism, and what has it not?
AI has made substantial inroads in specific journalism functions: automated content generation for structured, data-heavy story formats (financial results, sports scores, property listings, weather reports) has been commercially deployed by major publishers since the mid-2010s and produces serviceable factual stories faster and cheaper than human journalists; AI-assisted research tools (document analysis, database searching, pattern recognition across large datasets) have significantly enhanced investigative journalism capability; and AI-generated content is now present at scale across content farms and low-quality publishers. What AI has not replaced: original reporting that requires building trust with sources; investigative journalism that requires judgment about what questions to ask and what patterns are significant; editorial judgment about what matters and why; and the voice and perspective that characterises journalism people actually choose to read rather than consume by default.
Q: What is the genuine value that experienced broadcast journalists like Derryn Hinch provide that cannot be automated?
The value that experienced broadcast journalists provide that resists automation includes: the decades of source relationships that produce information no database contains; the pattern recognition built from sustained engagement with public affairs that enables the recognition of significance that statistical models cannot capture because the signal has not yet appeared in data; the accountability function — the willingness to challenge power, to ask the question that the powerful do not want asked, to persist in the face of denial — that requires human courage and independent judgment; and the personal perspective and voice that creates the distinctive relationship between journalist and audience that is fundamentally about trust in a human being, not satisfaction with an information delivery system. These are not minor adjuncts to journalism — they are what journalism at its best actually is.
Q: What does the AI journalism trajectory signal about the future of media business models?
The AI journalism trajectory reveals the following about media futures: the commodity content layer (factual reporting of events and data) will be increasingly AI-generated, reducing the economic rationale for human journalists in that layer; the differentiated content layer (original reporting, analysis, perspective, accountability journalism) will become relatively more valuable as the commodity layer is automated — but the business model for funding it is not yet secure; the trust deficit in AI-generated content (demonstrated inaccuracies, hallucinations, the difficulty of attributing and verifying AI content) creates an opportunity for journalism that prioritises verified human reporting to differentiate on trust; and the audience fragmentation driven by algorithmic distribution of content continues to challenge the economic model for quality journalism regardless of production technology. The journalism that survives will be the journalism that cannot be automated and that audiences trust enough to pay for.
Q: How can I book Morris Misel for a media futures, AI and journalism, or digital content keynote?
Contact the booking team at morrismisel.com/event-organisers.
Will computers take over the newsroom? was the question that prompted Derryn Hinch, of Hinch Live Sky Business TV, to want to chat about the Future of Robots. In this lively discussion Derryn and I explore all things Robots, looking at the future of robots in the workplace, in th.
When signals like Derryn Hinch be replaced by a robot emerge, organisations that engage early have the advantage of choosing their response rather than reacting to events. That gap between those who prepared and those who did not is where competitive positioning is actually made or lost.
The most important question is not whether Derryn Hinch be replaced by a robot will matter, but how quickly it will matter in your specific context. Leaders benefit most from mapping the ripple effects early — not just the direct impact but the second and third-order consequences that arrive later and hit harder. That is the practical work of foresight.
