Artificial intelligence should strengthen production workflows and improve efficiency, not replace the creative thinking that drives compelling storytelling, media professionals heard during a Broadcast Media Africa webinar on the future of content production and distribution.
The webinar, “Production & Distribution In The Age Of AI – How To Succeed!“, brought together media and technology practitioners to examine how broadcasters, producers and content companies can adopt AI while preserving the human creativity at the heart of the industry.
A key message from the discussion was that AI’s greatest value may lie in automating repetitive, mechanical tasks, allowing creative professionals to focus on storytelling, ideas, and editorial decision-making.
Sammy Wanyoike, Director of Growth at Ubongo, said his organisation views AI as a tool to support the production process rather than compete with or replace the creative teams developing stories and narratives.
He explained that AI can be particularly useful for repetitive tasks or for moving content from one stage of a workflow to another. However, the creative process should continue to originate from people.
“The creative process has to start from our minds, from the human perspective,” Wanyoike said, stressing that human input remains important in determining how content is presented, engaging and entertaining.
This distinction was reinforced by practical experience shared during the webinar. Wanyoike described a pilot project exploring the use of AI to dub content into another language. While AI could support the process, human intervention remained necessary to address issues such as delivery, tone, and pitch.
The experience demonstrated that automation can improve certain aspects of production without eliminating the need for creative professionals. In another example involving a World Cup song, participants noted that significant editing, prompting and adjustments still had to be undertaken by people, while the music and voice recording were produced in a studio.
For filmmaker and editor Charles Mawungwa, Head of Production at Realnet Multimedia, the issue is even more fundamental: AI should not own the creative vision.
“As creatives ourselves, we don’t want AI to be creative on our behalf, or to take our creativity,” Mawungwa said, adding that AI still has limitations and should be integrated with real-world creative processes.
The discussion pointed to a developing model for AI adoption in which technology handles selected production tasks while people retain control over the creative direction. Such an approach could help media organisations increase productivity and shorten production timelines without sacrificing originality.
The webinar also highlighted the importance of recognising AI’s limitations. Rather than treating generative AI as a complete production solution, speakers encouraged media organisations to understand where the technology performs effectively and where human expertise remains essential.
For Africa’s media industry, this balance could be particularly important as broadcasters and content producers seek to increase their output while working with limited resources. AI-powered tools can potentially help smaller teams accelerate development, generate supporting production assets and improve workflow efficiency, while human professionals remain responsible for the quality and creative integrity of the final product.
The discussion ultimately suggested that the question for African media organisations is not whether AI will replace creativity, but how effectively the industry can combine technology with human talent.
As AI becomes increasingly embedded in production and distribution, broadcasters and producers that understand where automation adds value—and where human creativity must remain in control—will be better positioned to innovate without losing the distinctive storytelling that gives African content its value.
Broadcast Media Africa’s webinar forms part of its ongoing programme of industry discussions examining the technologies, business models and strategies shaping Africa’s rapidly evolving broadcast and digital media landscape.
To view the brief webinar report, please check HERE.
To access the full report of this webinar, please check HERE.
