Carolina Science Cafe | Who’s a Journalist in the Age of AI?
Date: Tue, Oct 6, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Venue: Haw River Tap & Table, Carrboro
Price: Free
Category: Community
Who’s a Journalist in the Age of AI? Theorizing Distributed Journalistic Authority Amid Newsfluencers, Algorithms, and Generative Systems Who’s a Journalist in the Age of AI? addresses a critical development in the news media. In this talk, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media faculty member, Deb Aikat, PhD, will discuss how generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) reconfigures the epistemic boundaries of journalistic authority, credibility, and public verification in democratic discourse. Dr. Aikat will discuss how AI is reshaping press freedom at a time when public trust in media has sunk to 28%, according to Gallup’s 2025 survey. He studies the shifting information landscape in the U.S. and India — the world’s oldest and largest democracies — tracing how digital platforms empower people to publish, protest, and participate in civic life beyond traditional newsrooms. Carolina Science Cafe is a free program by Morehead Planetarium and Science Center that explores current science topics making headlines. This special program is hosted at Haw River Tap & Table in Carrboro on the first Tuesday of every month. Light appetizers are available for all attendees.
