Speaking at the FICCI Frames 2025 event, India Today Group’s Vice Chairperson and Executive Editor-in-Chief, Kalli Purie, emphasized that the most effective way to deal with artificial intelligence (AI) is not by fearing it, but by embracing and mastering it wholeheartedly. In her discussion, she asserted that AI is a transformative force reshaping newsrooms globally, and those who learn to harness its potential will gain a significant competitive edge in the rapidly evolving media landscape. According to Purie, the fear of AI is misplaced — instead, one must “jump in feet first,” explore its depths, and gain control over it before the technology takes control of human creativity and workflows. She described this proactive approach as the only way to ensure that media professionals continue to lead in innovation rather than fall behind in resistance to change.
During her session titled “Credibility in the Age of Chaos and Media’s Role in Shaping India’s Identity,” Purie explained that the biggest advantage of AI lies in its ability to eliminate repetitive and monotonous tasks that often consume journalists’ time. She noted that tools powered by AI now handle transcription work — one of the most tedious parts of newsroom functioning — efficiently and in multiple languages. Furthermore, she highlighted that AI has unlocked creative opportunities, enabling media outlets to generate visuals, create virtual anchors for overnight or off-hour broadcasts, and produce footage without the need for physical shoots. These innovations, she said, have opened new avenues for efficiency, cost reduction, and even fresh revenue streams. AI cloning, she added, has also made it possible to reproduce signature voices for voiceovers when the original speaker is unavailable, helping maintain brand consistency and timeliness in news production.
However, Purie did not shy away from addressing the ethical and legal challenges posed by AI. She acknowledged that one of the major concerns for publishers is the unregulated use of copyrighted material by AI systems that scrape content without permission. Describing India Today’s stance on the issue, she stated that while many organizations complain about being exploited by AI models, it is more productive to engage with these technologies strategically rather than stand on the sidelines. “As a publisher, we have been totally scraped, without permission,” she admitted, while stressing that the India Today Group remains committed to originality, continuing to produce its own authentic content instead of copying others. She also reflected on the growing debate around personal intellectual property in the AI age, remarking humorously but pointedly, “What kind of planet are we on that we now have to register ourselves as IP to prove we’re human so that AI can’t copy us?”
On the topic of country-specific media credibility, Purie rejected the long-held perception that Western news outlets are inherently more reliable than Indian ones. She observed that the colonial mindset of equating Western journalism with quality has faded, largely due to India’s growing global confidence since 2014, which she attributed in part to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to revive national pride. Despite Aaj Tak being the world’s number one news channel on YouTube with nearly 80 million subscribers, she noted that Indian media brands still do not receive the same global recognition or financial weighting as smaller Western outlets — a phenomenon she described as “digital imperialism.” This bias, she explained, continues to undervalue non-Western media in terms of metrics, visibility, and monetization.
Concluding her address, Purie offered an optimistic vision for the future where AI and human creativity coexist symbiotically. She introduced a metaphor she called the “AI sandwich,” explaining that human intelligence must form the “bread” on both sides, with AI as the “jam in between.” In this balance, she said, humans would continue to guide creativity and ethics at the beginning and the end of the process, while AI would handle the heavy lifting in the middle. According to her, this blended approach would not only protect journalistic integrity but also help the media industry thrive in a world increasingly defined by technological disruption.
