The Publisher of PRNigeria, Yushau A. Shuaib, has urged young journalists and communication students to embrace Artificial Intelligence responsibly, stressing that the future of the media industry will be defined by those who master digital tools without compromising ethical judgment.
Delivering a keynote address titled “AI for Strategic Communication” at the Annual Campus Journalism Awards (CJA), Shuaib unveiled findings from his latest studies on AI in crisis communication and its adoption among student writers. He warned that while AI offers unprecedented opportunities, its misuse could erode credibility and weaken professional standards.
Tracing the evolution of modern communication, Shuaib reflected on the internet era, which opened the floodgates of unregulated publishing, and the rise of social media, which turned editors into content chasers under algorithmic pressure. Currently, he observed, AI is narrating human experiences while raising concerns about bias, hallucinations, and deepfakes.
“Today, technology giants harvest our behaviour and preferences. The user has become the product, not a participant,” the award-winning communication strategist told the audience, cautioning that unchecked reliance on AI could undermine trust in journalism.
According to Shuaib, AI is already reshaping strategic communication by improving speed, efficiency, and multi-platform dissemination. Yet transparency, responsibility, and human oversight remain essential, particularly during crises when credibility is paramount.
Presenting insights from his recent studies, Shuaib noted that while AI adoption is expanding across organisations, its use remains uneven. Many institutions deploy AI tools, but a significant percentage of staff are either unaware of their full capabilities or unconvinced of their reliability.
The study revealed a huge gap in institutional preparedness, as many higher institutions have not integrated AI training into their curriculum, causing students to learn through self-exploration rather than structured academic support. However, the vast majority expressed desire for universities to introduce more AI-focused courses, especially in critical thinking, digital ethics, and content verification.
Despite widespread adoption, the research found that most students possess only surface-level familiarity with AI, with many lacking essential skills in accuracy verification, ethical application, and prompt engineering. More than 51 percent of communication professionals still consider AI-generated crisis alerts untrustworthy due to the prevalence of deepfakes, synthetic voices, and manipulated visuals.
The research further showed that while communication students and young writers are increasingly adopting AI tools in their academic and creative work, their usage is marked by unequal expertise, ethical concerns, and a lack of institutional guidance.
“Young communicators currently use AI more for tactical purposes—brainstorming, drafting, summarising, transcription, and translation—rather than advanced strategic functions like predictive analytics, risk forecasting, or crisis modelling,” Shuaib explained.
Shuaib observed that students show strong enthusiasm for AI tools but often lack deeper literacy for responsible use. While they rely heavily on AI for writing support, many struggle to verify accuracy, address ethical considerations, and develop the technical skills needed for effective prompt engineering. This, the scholar argued, signals a pressing need for improved digital literacy and structured training.
He highlighted several advantages that young communicators are leveraging. Majority of users rely on AI for content automation and brainstorming, rating the technology as highly effective in helping them meet deadlines, organise tasks, and streamline processes. AI has also transformed transcription and translation, with most confirming that AI tools outperform traditional methods in speed and accuracy.
Furthermore, users acknowledge AI’s faster and more reliable data analysis, enabling communicators to monitor sentiment, identify trends, and extract insights for better decision-making. ChatGPT, Meta AI, Google Gemini, and Copilot, Shuaib noted, now form the backbone of digital content creation for young writers. But, several students admitted that constant AI use sometimes weakens creativity and reduces engagement.
Despite these advantages, Shuaib warned that over-reliance on AI poses serious risks. In both research targeting crisis communicators and student journalists, respondents identified plagiarism risks, over-reliance, privacy concerns, and algorithmic bias as major worries associated with AI use.
The author emphasised that misinformation and manipulated content remain major threats, as deepfakes and synthetic voices continue to undermine public trust. “AI must not undermine the credibility that communication relies upon,” he stressed, urging young journalists to prioritise verification and ethical judgment.
Shuaib also pointed to broader regulatory concerns, including privacy breaches, job displacement, diminishing human empathy, and the need for mandatory disclosure when AI tools contribute to content creation. Stronger policies and improved digital literacy, he argued, are essential to ensure AI enhances rather than compromises communication integrity.
Beyond technology, Shuaib advised campus journalists to strengthen foundational skills that remain irreplaceable. He emphasised curiosity, urging young communicators to ask deeper questions and verify AI-generated outputs rather than accepting them at face value. Critical thinking, he said, ensures objectivity and sound judgment, while creativity remains central to effective storytelling.
He encouraged students to cultivate discipline by meeting deadlines and practising consistently, noting that professionalism is defined by commitment regardless of technological change. Crisis management skills, he added, are increasingly vital in fast-paced digital environments, while collaboration and networking remain essential since meaningful relationships cannot be automated.
“Efficient time management is key to maximising both human capability and AI-assisted productivity. The next generation of communicators will be defined by how they balance AI efficiency with human ethics, judgment, and creativity,” Shuaib declared.
The publisher added that the critical question society must ask is not what technology can do, but what society will allow it to do. He encouraged young journalists to use AI as a supportive tool—for fact-checking, content creation, verification, and cross-platform publishing—while maintaining strong human oversight to prevent inaccuracies and ethical violations.
Mrs. Mufeeda Hussaini, representing the Minister of State for Education; Director General of Voice of Nigeria, Jibrin Baba Ndace; Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria, Alhaji Ali M. Ali; and Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, hailed the event theme, “AI and the Future of Journalism”. They described it as timely and apt, given the global impact of emerging technologies.
The Country Director of Amnesty International, Isa Sanusi; the Spokesperson of the Nigeria Customs Service, DCC Abdullahi Aliyu Maiwada; and the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of News Central TV, Kayode Akintemi, also endorsed the programme and pledged continued support for its sustainability.
Other distinguished guests included Brigadier General S.K. Usman, former Army spokesperson; Azubuike Ishiekwene, Editor-in-Chief of Leadership Newspapers; Professor Sule Yau Sule, Chairman of Image Merchants; Dr. Khalifa Mohammed of AANI; Mrs. Blessing Oyem, Director at NOA; Mrs. Maryam Sanusi of NIPR; and Hajia Aishatu Ibrahim Banta, NFIU.
