'Nepali media are capable of charting their own path if tech giants, powerful nations ensure a level playing field'

KATHMANDU, May 4: While many developed countries are already reaping the benefits of AI in newsrooms and media houses, South Asia remains in the early stages of adoption. As this lag can give rise to issues such as algorithmic and data biases, experts say it is essential for Nepal to begin contributing training data that accurately represents our people and our diversity.

Speaking as a panellist at the South Asia Regional Conference organized by UNESCO in Kathmandu on Sunday to mark World Press Freedom Day, Sambridhi Gyawali, Managing Director of Nepal Republic Media Limited, called on tech companies to provide a level playing field to Nepali media.

"The role of media is critically important to make Nepal's young democracy thrive and become vibrant. We have come this far because of legacy media and the determination of journalists. But tech companies do not seem to have recognized this fact. We need media to thrive in order to sustain democracy. Tech companies need to recognize this," she said.

She also noted that most of these tech companies-except for TikTok-are not even registered in Nepal. "How can the government take action in such a situation? The content we create is going to Facebook and other platforms. They are benefitting from us, but we are not receiving any revenue in return. Google's refusal to recognize Nepali as a language clearly raises questions about our sovereignty," she added.

"Nepal is a sovereign and democratic country. Google recognizes regional languages like Malayalam and Kannada in India, but not Nepali," Gyawali lamented.

Pointing to the shifting media landscape influenced by artificial intelligence (AI), she stressed that recognition of the Nepali language by Google would allow media houses to generate significant revenue independently.

"We are not asking the UN to only organize workshops or training on AI. As a representative of the Nepali media, I urge you to help pressure Google to recognize the Nepali language," she said, again questioning whether the tech giant truly acknowledges Nepal's sovereignty.

Gyawali noted that Nepali media are actively exploring alternative revenue models and that financial constraints could ease substantially if Google were to include Nepali in its ad systems. "Once that happens, we can sustain ourselves without external assistance," she stated.

Also speaking on the panel AI and Media Viability: Exploring AI's Impact on Business Models, Sustainability, Labor, and Innovation in the Media Sector, senior journalists Junayd Saleem from the Maldives and Sangay Rabten from Bhutan emphasized the ethical use of AI in journalism. While they cautioned against rushing to introduce new regulations-given that AI is inherently difficult to regulate-they stressed the importance of using AI to enhance efficiency and improve the quality of journalism.