Fears

concerns and risks around using ai

Concerns about AI are not just resistance; they often point to real risks worth taking seriously. This card gives a team room to name what worries them: errors in print, lost jobs, eroded trust, dependence on outside companies. Saying fears out loud is the first step to deciding which ones to act on.

Questions to explore

// use these as prompts in a workshop or on your own. There are no right answers.

What is the worst outcome you can picture from using AI in your newsroom?
Which fears are about the tools, and which are about how people might use them?
How might AI affect trust between your newsroom and its audience?
What would have to be true for these fears to stop worrying you?
Which of these concerns can you act on now, and which are out of your hands?

Expert voices

// notes from the journalists and AI experts who helped shape this kit

“Put a number on your p(doom): how much do you actually believe the robots will take over?”

Carl Javier, Data and AI Ethicist

“The fear of being replaced by AI is inevitable, and basic AI literacy is how you conquer it. Understanding what these systems actually do and cannot do makes the conversation productive again.”

Jasper Steinlein, DW

“Threat narratives and salvation narratives both block productive debate. Surface what people actually fear and hope before arguing about the technology itself.”

Steffen Leidel, DW Akademie

Things to consider

Treat fears as signals about risk, not as obstacles to dismiss.
Some concerns point to safeguards you can put in place today.
Naming a fear makes it easier to decide whether it is likely.

using this card

Pull Fears when it is relevant and set it aside when it is not. Pair it with the other AI Conversations cards, lay them out on a table, and use the questions above to get everyone on the same page. Capture what you discuss on sticky notes or in a shared doc.