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In his opening remarks at a conference on "Navigating the AI and Media" held by the Association of Balkan News Agencies - Southeast Europe (ABNA-SE) in Istanbul on Wednesday, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev spoke about the role artificial intelligence (AI) could play in the job of the journalist in the future. At the forum, which is taking place ahead of the ABNA-SE 32nd General Assembly (until September 6), Valchev stated that AI could never replace the natural communication between people.

Valchev asked the participants to imagine having computers at a future ABNA-SE General Assembly, trying to calculate what the heads of news agencies would say or how they would vote. While that may be possible in some other parts of the world, "it is inconceivable in the Balkans where life has always been guided by living human emotions". He added that AI replacing God's creation, the human being, was also unimaginable for him.

The head of BTA pointed out that professionals such as journalists who work with large databases can save time if they utilize AI. It is important, however, to note that AI cannot replace a live reporter on the scene, since AI works with previously accumulated knowledge but cannot cover live news. "New technologies can only complement journalists, not replace them," he added.

Valchev listed some uses for AI in the news media. First, they can use AI to pick the really important news and help users navigate through the ocean of news. Second, AI can facilitate the exchange of news articles between agencies that use different languages (he said that ABNA-SE will consider a project including the development of software to ease the exchange of news among the 12 ABNA-SE members. Third, AI can help media outlets find common points between different news articles (such as where the news flows of the 12 ABNA-SE members cross). Fourth, AI can facilitate the combination of various formats for news reporting: text, photos, video, audio, and infographics. Fifth, it can help better manage the news agencies' presence on social networks and other platforms and reach more people, especially more young people. Sixth, AI can help improve the news agencies' databases. Finally, it can help the news agency to better train their staff, he said adding that journalists must be trained how to use AI. "Before we develop AI, we need to develop natural human intelligence," he said.

The Director General of BTA was adamant that AI could never replace human cooperation or turn ABNA-SE into a computer-controlled by algorithm. He proceeded to praise ABNA-SE for its progress of having been registered as a legal entity in Sofia, which is an honour for BTA.

Valchev spoke about Italy's national news agency ANSA joining ABNA-SE in 2023 and added that work is underway to have news agencies of Serbia and Moldova join in as well.

He ended his speech with an extract from a poem by Bulgarian writer Hristo Fotev who was born in Istanbul 90 years ago:

The most important thing is to dare.

To overcome your fear — to jump…

Among the forum attendees were Turkiye's Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacir and Serdar Karagoz, head of the ABNA-SE and Anadolu Agency Director General.

The Association of the Balkan News Agencies - Southeast Europe (hereinafter ABNA-SE or “the Association”) is registered at the Registry Agency of the Republic of Bulgaria as a non-profit association for the pursuit of private-benefit activities under Unified Identification Code (UIC) 207110234.

This Report has been prepared for the General Assembly of the Association and covers the previous calendar year, viz. the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023.

In a post from the ABNA-SE conference on X, Anadolu Agency Director General Serdar Karagöz wrote that the advent of artificial intelligence has brought innovative perspectives to the media world while shaping the future of the sector’s ecosystem. "But, while implementing innovations in this transformative process, it is at least as important to preserve our industry’s deep-rooted values, authenticity, and ethical standards. We should adopt an approach that not only integrates technology but also moulds it with a human-centered approach. Throughout the conference, the crucial role of collaboration in international media will be at the forefront of our discussions," he said.

On September 19, 2022, BTA became the seat of ABNA-SE which brings together 12 news agencies: Albania - Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA); Bosnia and Herzegovina – Federal News Agency (FENA); Bulgaria - Bulgarian News Agency (BTA); Croatia - Croatian News Agency (HINA); Cyprus - Cyprus News Agency (CNA); Greece - Athens News Agency-Macedonian Press Agency (ANA-MPA); Italy - Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA); Kosovo - KosovaPress News Agency (KOSOVAPRESS); Montenegro - Montenegro Independent News Agency (MINA); North Macedonia - Media Information Agency (MIA); Romania - Romanian National News Agency (AGERPRES); and Türkiye - Anadolu Ajansi (AA).

On October 6, 2022, ABNA-SE was registered at the Registry Agency of the Republic of Bulgaria as a non-profit association for the pursuit of private-benefit activities. The decision for that was made at the 30th General Assembly of the organization, held in Burgas on September 19, 2022 and hosted by BTA. Bulgaria was picked to become the seat of the Association and BTA Director General Kiril Valchev became Secretary General of ABNA-SE. The decision was made unanimously by all member agencies.

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