The second expert session at the AI Media Conference discusses the impact of artificial intelligence on media reputation in Saudi society.

The expert session, part of the second day of the AI Media Conference: Opportunities and Challenges, concluded Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at the Madareem Crown Hotel in Riyadh. It was moderated by Dr. Abdulmalik Al-Shalhoub, Professor of Media at King Saud University, and featured speakers: Dr. Mutlaq Al-Mutairi, Professor of Political Media at King Saud University; Dr. Fahd Abdulaziz Al-Askar, Professor of Media at Imam Muhammad bin Saud University; Dr. Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Hamoud, Professor of Media at Imam Muhammad bin Saud University; Dr. Ali Dabkal Al-Anazi, Professor of Media at King Saud University; and Dr. Abdulrahman Abdullah Al-Abdulqader, Professor at Imam Muhammad bin Saud University.

First, Dr. Mutlaq Al-Mutairi discussed the main drawbacks of machines and the difficulty of relying entirely on them because they cannot distinguish between good and evil. He spoke about media work ethics and the necessity of establishing special standards and charters to regulate these ethics. He referred to international AI experiences in weapons, military industries, and controlling aircraft, missiles, and anti-air systems without human intervention, noting the danger of that. He concluded by saying: 'We are facing a completely confused scene from an ethical standpoint.'

Then Dr. Fahd Abdulaziz Al-Askar spoke, emphasizing that AI is no longer just a content producer but has shifted the source of authority from media institutions to algorithms, leading to a weakening of verification and accountability standards. He asked: How do users interact with this content? What is the level of trust in media institutions and published sources? He stressed that we have moved from constant trust to negotiable trust, i.e., trust that is open to negotiation, where we view content with suspicion and deal with each piece of content individually.

Afterwards, Dr. Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Hamoud presented his paper on smart business models, their importance, the major transformations in the media environment, and the eight components of smart business models. He highlighted the main axes of media institutions' economics, comprising four axes: funding sources, financial sustainability, costs and expenses, and administrative policy, stressing the importance of developing administrative thinking as the most influential factor in media institutions' economics. At the end of his paper, he proposed five patterns for smart business models: data-driven model, personalized content model, digital subscriptions model, platform model, and automated advertising model.

In turn, Dr. Ali Dabkal Al-Anazi spoke in his paper about the impact of artificial intelligence on Saudi society in general through historical stages, and touched on two studies on AI. He posed a question: Did AI change the concept and message of media or just its means? He affirmed that scientific studies have shown that AI's impact was manifested in data, fake news detection, instant journalistic translation, and enhancing content production. Dr. Al-Anazi concluded his paper by emphasizing the shift of power from the sender to the receiver and from the institution to the source, but AI has begun to rebalance power centers.

The session concluded with a paper presented by Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Abdulqader on students' use of the ChatGPT application, the extent of their reliance on it, and their benefit from it.