LOS ANGELES, Mar. 18, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — What does the future of journalism look like with artificial intelligence (AI)? The technology poses a number of opportunities and challenges to the news industry. To help better understand the possibilities, University of Missouri’s Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute has invited Marc Fischer, CEO of mobile app development company Dogtown Media, and four other innovators to speak at its RJI Innovation Series.

AI’s potential is unprecedented—PwC predicts it could contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030—more than the current output of India and China combined. But you don’t have to wait until the future to see the technology’s impact now.

News outlets like Bloomberg and The Washington Post are already leveraging machine learning, a subset of AI, to produce content. The latter recently won the “Excellence in Use of Bots” award for Heliograf, its in-house robot reporter. While some journalists are thankful to pass on some of their workload to AI, others question their future and the technology’s place in the news industry.

The RJI Innovation Series strives to connect industry professionals with students of the University of Missouri so they can gain better insight into emerging technology’s place in society. The first event of the series, held last year, focused on immersive technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality.

For this AI-focused event, other speakers joining Fischer include Jahna Berry, Head of Content Operations at Wired; Jeremy Gilbert, the Director of Strategic Initiatives at The Washington Post who launched Heliograf; Nick Monaco, Disinformation Analyst at Graphika; and Steven Rosenbush, Enterprise Technology Editor of the Wall Street Journal’s “WSJ Pro.”

Marc Fischer is the CEO and Co-Founder of Dogtown Media, a mobile technology studio based in Venice Beach, California that leverages disruptive design strategies and dynamic development to deliver industry-leading apps. Under Fischer’s leadership, the firm pioneered ShoutOut, a first-of-its-kind AI chatbot for the Google Home and Google Assistant platforms.

Fischer is optimistic about the potential of AI and machine learning to improve the future of work: “AI is set to unlock the greatest digital transformation the world has seen since the invention of the internet. Every facet of our current lifestyles will undergo tremendous change in the next few years. Is society ready to grapple with the inevitability of this disruptive force?”

Headquartered in Venice Beach, California, Dogtown Media is a mobile technology firm that leverages disruptive design strategies and dynamic development to deliver industry-leading apps. To date, the company has created over 200 mobile apps in industries including FinTech, IoT, Artificial Intelligence, and Healthcare app development.

The RJI Innovation Series will be held from March 18-19 at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute.

SOURCE Dogtown Media