In the Text Akademie podcast «AI and Society» with Christoph Soltmannowski, he explains why the media does far too little to explain the technology, why real journalism is becoming increasingly valuable in the pursuit of AI, and what truly concerns him about this whole development.
Gaudenz Looser has been described as «Switzerland’s most dangerous journalist.» «It’s a nice title they’ve given me. I didn’t go looking for it—and I’m only resisting it a little bit now.» For him, there isn’t much more to it than that anyway: Anyone who heads the country’s largest media outlet for a certain period of time bears responsibility and wields influence. Looser is fine with that.
It wasn’t his own enthusiasm that led him to the topic of AI, but rather an assignment from his boss at the time. «At first, I was forced into it—and I’m grateful for that,» he says. But as soon as he began to explore it, he became captivated by the subject and couldn’t let it go. He quickly realized how great the need was to explain and contextualize a technology «that has such a powerful impact on all our lives and is evolving so rapidly.».
This is precisely where his central criticism of his own industry lies. While publishing houses have made intensive efforts to integrate AI into everyday life, they have criminally neglected the media’s actual mission—to explain to society the opportunities and risks associated with the technology. «Every individual is left a little bit on their own with the technology,» says Looser. He identifies two successive fears behind this: first, FOMO—«I have no idea what this is all about, but we have to do it too»—and then the fear of «being caught not having a clue yet.».
Looser considers the idea that AI is revolutionizing text writing, of all things, to be the least interesting prospect. «AI Slop» remains recognizable: «Whenever you think, »No one will notice this anymore,« it takes two weeks and the flaws become obvious.» The real strength lies elsewhere: “Processing large amounts of unstructured information has never been easier than it is now”—a tool that opens up entirely new research possibilities for journalism.
However, that doesn’t change the nature of the profession. His formula is simple: Anything that involves drudgery should be left to machines—«and the time saved should be invested where you are irreplaceable: in connecting with the audience, being human, and being authentic.»
Consequently, he has little faith in the promise of efficiency. «You can’t replace content with AI, because content without intention isn’t content—it’s just a imitation of content.» That’s why he doesn’t believe in a fully automated AI newspaper. A story that no longer has a human behind it remains soulless: «You can just feel it—the subtext is missing.»
What’s missing, he says, is the bridge between the «nerd sphere» and the general public. «There’s no standard for AI applications,» says Looser. It would be helpful to have an authority that says, «Today, you need to be able to do this, this, and this.» But society isn’t moving that fast—every curriculum is outdated after just two weeks. «We just have to put up with it until things stop moving so fast.»
What really concerns Looser isn’t buzzwords like «deepfakes.» Fake content would eventually be detected. «But what bothers me is that we’re chasing after these buzzwords,» while what’s truly significant is happening: «the complete erosion of privacy.» Combined with our dependence on foreign technologies, this results in «a shift in power unlike anything humanity has ever experienced.» Looser takes this all the way to direct democracy: “If everything can be calculated, then everything can also be manipulated.”
For him, the answer is digital sovereignty: «I don’t want Donald Trump to decide who has access to my data and who doesn’t.»
The more you engage with AI, the more valuable face-to-face interactions become. «The analog experience suddenly becomes a USP again,» says Looser. He is nonetheless fascinated by the technology: he observes how AI speeds up his life and creates shortcuts. Minor «nerdy problems» simply disappear—he no longer needs instruction manuals at all.
And so *Tour d’Horizon* concludes with a message one might not necessarily have expected from Switzerland’s supposedly most dangerous journalist. Don’t be afraid, but remain cautious and skeptical. «I believe in society’s ability to get through this in a positive way.»
«AI and Society – Pathways to a New World» is a video podcast produced by the Swiss Text Academy Foundation and the Swiss Prompt Engineering Academy in collaboration with Science City Davos and Lab42 Davos. Hosted by Christoph Soltmannowski. Available on YouTube, Spotify, and all other major podcast platforms: tinyurl.com/5t4fyfex
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