- The challenge is not whether to adopt AI, but how to use it wisely
- AI adds both opportunities and risks
- AI should enhance, not replace human expertise
Communication has evolved from print to artificial intelligence (AI). New media transform, rather than replace, older forms. There is an impact of digital technologies on reading, critical thinking, journalism, and media literacy, Hence, a hybrid media culture is proposed for Sri Lanka where traditional media, digital platforms, and AI work together to strengthen democracy, education, and informed citizenship.
Communication never stands still
Every generation believes that it is experiencing the greatest communication revolution. The printing press, radio, television (TV), the Internet, and now AI have each been seen as threats to the existing media. Yet, history shows that communication evolves through adaptation rather than replacement.
Instead of eliminating older media, new technologies reshape and complement them. Books, newspapers, radio, TV, digital platforms, and AI continue to coexist, each serving different audiences and purposes. Communication technologies extend human capabilities while transforming how societies create, share, and consume information.
Recent reports from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Reuters Institute confirm that although digital media dominate today's information environment, traditional media remain relevant by adapting to new technologies. At the same time, societies face new challenges, including misinformation, algorithmic influence, deepfakes, and the urgent need for media and AI literacy.
For Sri Lanka, the challenge is not to choose between print and digital media but to integrate both effectively. The future lies in building a hybrid media culture, where traditional journalism, digital platforms, and AI work together to strengthen education, democratic participation, and an informed society.
Media evolution: Why new media never replace old media?
Whenever a new communication technology emerges, predictions arise that the older media will disappear. The printing press was once feared to threaten oral traditions, radio was expected to replace newspapers, TV was believed to end radio, and the Internet was predicted to make books and TV obsolete. Today, similar claims are made about AI, with some suggesting that it will replace journalists, publishers, and even human creativity. History however, tells a different story.
Communication develops through evolution rather than replacement. New media redefine the functions of existing media, creating a more diverse and interconnected communication environment instead of eliminating older forms.
Recent international research supports these theories. Although digital platforms and social media have become major news sources, professional journalism continues to adapt through multimedia publishing, subscription services, podcasts, and mobile applications. AI has also become an important communication tool by assisting with translation, data analysis, transcription, and content production. Yet, human judgement, ethical decision-making, critical analysis, and investigative reporting remain indispensable.
Sri Lanka reflects this global transformation. Newspapers now combine printed editions with websites, YouTube channels, podcasts, mobile applications, and social media platforms. TV and radio broadcasters similarly extend their reach through digital streaming, while universities increasingly integrate printed learning materials with online education and AI-assisted teaching.
The history of communication therefore offers a clear lesson: new media do not replace old media — they transform and strengthen them. AI is not the end of journalism or communication, but the newest stage in a continuing process of technological innovation, adaptation, and coexistence.
Has the shift from print to audiovisual media weakened critical thinking?
As society moves from printed books and newspapers to TV, social media, YouTube, TikTok, and AI, many wonder whether people are becoming less capable of critical thinking. While this concern is understandable, communication and cognitive research suggest that the issue is not the medium itself but how we use it.
Print has traditionally encouraged deep reading — the careful evaluation of ideas, evidence, and arguments. Such reading strengthens concentration, analytical reasoning, and informed judgement. Postman argued that TV shifted public communication from reasoned debate towards entertainment, while McLuhan observed that different media shape different ways of thinking. Printed text promotes sequential analysis, whereas audiovisual media provide faster, more immediate, and emotionally engaging experiences.
Research by Nicholas George Carr and other cognitive scholars suggests that constant exposure to digital environments can encourage rapid scanning rather than sustained reflection. However, this does not mean that digital media inevitably reduce critical thinking. Educational research shows that well-designed videos, documentaries, animations, and interactive learning tools can significantly improve understanding when combined with sound educational practice. Richard Edmund Mayer's cognitive theory of multimedia learning demonstrates that people often learn more effectively when visual and verbal information complement one another.
The greater challenge lies in today's attention economy. Social media algorithms prioritise content that captures attention, often promoting emotional reactions over careful analysis. AI adds both opportunities and risks. It can summarise information, support research, and improve learning, it can also generate misinformation, fabricated images, and misleading content if users fail to verify sources.
Recognising these challenges, the UNESCO emphasises that media, information, digital, and AI literacy are now essential life skills. Citizens must learn to evaluate evidence, identify bias, verify information, and understand how algorithms shape what they consume.
Sri Lanka faces these issues as social media increasingly influences political discussion, public opinion, and everyday communication. While digital platforms have expanded access to information, they have also accelerated the spread of misinformation and online manipulation. Strengthening critical thinking through education, responsible journalism, and media literacy has therefore become a national priority.
The evidence is clear: audiovisual and digital media do not automatically weaken critical thinking. Instead, they require new skills that complement the reflective habits developed through reading. The future belongs to citizens who can think critically across all forms of communication — from printed books and newspapers to digital platforms and AI.
Reading has not disappeared — It has simply evolved
One of the most common complaints heard from parents, teachers, and journalists is that "people no longer read." Smartphones, social media, YouTube, and AI are often blamed for the apparent decline of books and newspapers. At first glance, the concern seems justified. Libraries appear quieter than before, printed newspaper circulation has declined in many countries, and young people spend far more time looking at screens than turning the pages of books.
But, are people really reading less?
Surprisingly, most contemporary research suggests the opposite. People may be reading differently, they are reading more frequently than at any other time in history. The difference lies in the format, purpose, and environment in which reading now takes place.
Every day, millions of people read electronic mails, news websites, social media posts, blogs, online journals, digital books, subtitles, discussion forums, messaging applications, research databases, and AI-generated summaries. University students increasingly access electronic journals rather than printed library shelves. Professionals read reports on tablets and laptops. Citizens consume breaking news through mobile applications long before the following day's newspaper reaches their doorstep. Reading has not disappeared — it has expanded into countless digital environments.
Communication scholars describe this transformation as the evolution from print literacy to digital and multimodal literacy.
Media scholar McLuhan anticipated this shift more than half a century ago when he argued that every communication technology changes how people organise and process knowledge. Digital media have not eliminated reading; they have transformed it into an activity that increasingly combines written language with photographs, videos, audio, graphics, hyperlinks, and interactive communication.
This idea was developed further by Bolter, who argued that digital technologies have created entirely new "writing spaces." Traditional books encourage readers to move from the first page to the last in a carefully organised sequence. Digital texts however, allow readers to navigate information through hyperlinks, search functions, embedded videos, interactive graphics, and related documents. Reading has therefore become more exploratory, flexible, and personalised than ever before.
Similarly, communication scholars Bolter and Richard Arthur Grusin explain that digital media do not replace the printed media but remediate them — that is, they borrow, adapt, and extend earlier communication forms. An online newspaper still relies on written journalism, but, it also incorporates videos, podcasts, interactive maps, photographs, and live updates. E-books reproduce printed books while adding search tools, annotations, and instant access to millions of titles. Digital reading is therefore an extension of traditional reading rather than its replacement.
The nature of literacy itself has also changed. Educational theorist Gunther Rolf Kress argues that modern societies increasingly rely on multimodal literacy, where meaning is communicated not only through written words but also through images, sound, animation, data visualisations, and digital interaction. Reading today often involves interpreting infographics, analysing video content, evaluating social media discussions, and understanding visual storytelling alongside conventional written text.
At the same time, researchers caution against abandoning deep reading altogether.
AI now represents the newest chapter in this evolution. AI-powered tools can recommend books, summarise lengthy research articles, translate complex academic texts, personalise educational resources, and help readers navigate vast quantities of information. These innovations make knowledge more accessible than ever before. Yet, they also introduce new responsibilities. Readers must learn to verify AI-generated information, identify inaccuracies, detect fabricated content, and distinguish reliable evidence from persuasive misinformation.
Sri Lanka is experiencing this transformation alongside the rest of the world. Students increasingly use digital libraries, learning management systems, online journals, e-books, and AI-assisted learning platforms. Newspapers now publish both printed editions and continuously updated online content. Government institutions, universities, businesses, and civil society organisations communicate through websites, social media, and mobile applications while still relying on formal printed documents where necessary.
The question, therefore, is no longer whether people are reading. The more important question is what they are reading, how they are reading, and whether they possess the critical skills required to evaluate increasingly complex information environments. Reading in the 21st Century extends far beyond printed pages. It has become a dynamic, interactive, multimedia process of learning that combines traditional literacy with digital competence, media literacy, information literacy, and AI literacy. Far from disappearing, the reading culture has entered one of the most transformative periods in its long history.
Building a hybrid media culture for SL in the age of AI
Communication history shows that technological progress cannot be stopped. The challenge for Sri Lanka is therefore not whether to adopt digital media and AI, but how to integrate them while preserving the enduring strengths of the traditional media. This vision is reflected in the idea of a hybrid media culture — a communication ecosystem in which print, broadcasting, digital platforms, and AI complement one another rather than compete.
Jenkins the IIIrd' theory of media convergence explains that communication now flows across multiple platforms. A single news story may appear first in a newspaper, then on a news website, TV, radio, social media, podcasts, and AI-powered search systems. Audiences no longer rely on one medium; instead, they move across platforms to access, share, and discuss information.
Sri Lanka is already experiencing this transformation. Newspapers now combine printed editions with websites, mobile applications, YouTube channels, podcasts, and social media. TV and radio broadcasters also extend their reach through digital streaming, demonstrating that traditional and digital media can successfully coexist.
AI is accelerating this evolution. AI assists journalists, educators, researchers, and students by analysing data, translating languages, generating transcripts, supporting research, and improving access to information. However, AI should enhance — not replace — human expertise. Editorial judgement, ethical responsibility, creativity, and critical thinking remain essential to quality communication.
Building a successful hybrid media culture requires more than technology. It demands investment in education, media ethics, and digital citizenship. Schools and universities should continue encouraging reading while strengthening media, information, digital, and AI literacy. Citizens must learn to evaluate sources, recognise misinformation, identify deepfakes, understand algorithmic bias, and use AI responsibly.
Journalism also has a crucial responsibility. As misinformation spreads rapidly online, public trust depends on professional reporting based on accuracy, verification, fairness, independence, and accountability. AI should support these principles rather than undermine them.
Governments, universities, media organisations, civil society, and the technology sector must work together to create policies that encourage responsible innovation, expand access to reliable information, strengthen public libraries, and ensure that rural and disadvantaged communities are not excluded from digital transformation.
Sri Lanka does not need to choose between books and smartphones, newspapers and social media, or human intelligence and AI. Its future lies in combining these strengths to build a hybrid media culture that promotes critical thinking, credible journalism, lifelong learning, technological innovation, and democratic participation. By embracing this balanced approach, Sri Lanka can create a communication system that is more inclusive, informed, resilient, and prepared for the opportunities of the AI era.
The future of communication: Human intelligence working with AI
Every communication revolution has brought both excitement and fear. Writing, printing, radio, TV, the Internet, and now AI have all been predicted to replace what came before. History however, shows that communication evolves through adaptation, integration, and innovation — not replacement.
AI is transforming journalism, education, publishing, public relations, and everyday communication. Yet, it cannot replace the qualities that define humanity: critical thinking, ethical judgement, creativity, empathy, cultural understanding, and social responsibility. These remain the foundation of meaningful communication.
For Sri Lanka, the challenge is not whether to adopt AI, but how to use it wisely. The country must build a hybrid media culture that combines the credibility and depth of traditional media with the speed, accessibility, and innovation of digital technologies and AI. This requires quality journalism, strong education, responsible technology governance, and greater media, information, digital, and AI literacy.
Technology is only as valuable as the people who use it. AI can process vast amounts of information, it cannot decide what is true, just, ethical, or compassionate. Those responsibilities will always belong to human beings.
The future of communication is therefore not AI alone — it is human intelligence working with AI. By embracing this partnership, Sri Lanka can build a more informed, innovative, democratic, and humane communication culture for the 21st Century.
The writer is a Senior Lecturer at and the Head of the Kelaniya University’s Mass Communication Department
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The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication