How AI Endangers Freedom of Press and Documentary Practice
Presented by Reporters Without Borders
Image credit: Kabul, Afghanistan, 1996 © James Nachtwey Archive, Hood Museum of Art Dartmouth
In this talk, moderated by Monika Ilves, Assessor on the board of D64 – Center for Digital Progress, Sören Kittel, Media and Public Relations Officer at Reporters Without Borders, Peter Schink, Editor-in-Chief of Berliner Morgenpost, and acclaimed photojournalist Sergey Ponomarev discuss the dangers of AI in conflict reporting.
How can images and information be manipulated? How are sources exposed, and journalists put at risk? Drawing on real-world cases, the session highlights the threats to press freedom, visual truth, and ethical journalism when technology is used without accountability.
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ABOUT THE HOST
Monika Ilves serves as an assessor on the board of D64 – Center for Digital Progress (registered association), where she focuses on various future scenarios and the societal impacts of digitalization. From D64’s perspective, she supported the development of the Code of Conduct on AI for civil society, which is backed by around 190 organizations. As Co-Director of the Institute of Electronic Business e.V. (an affiliated institute of the Berlin University of the Arts), Monika builds bridges between academia and industry, particularly through strategic concepts and practical AI projects.
About the speakers
Peter Schink
Peter Schink is editor-in-chief of the Berliner Morgenpost and an expert in the digital transformation of journalism and the use of artificial intelligence in newsrooms. He studied journalism at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and attended the German School of Journalism. After working at Die Netzeitung, Die Welt, and t-online, he joined Funke Media Group, where he developed AI guidelines for editorial teams. He also teaches and speaks on topics such as AI in journalism and “vibe coding.”
Sören Kittel
Sören Kittel studied Southeast Asian studies, completed a traineeship at the Axel Springer Academy and wrote for Berliner Morgenpost and Die Welt. After a year as a freelance correspondent in Seoul, he published a book on South Korea, followed by another on Indonesia. From January 2021 to October 2024, he worked as local editor-in-chief at Berliner Zeitung, and in January 2026 he joined Reporters Without Borders (RSF) as press officer for Asia-Pacific and artificial intelligence.
Sergey Ponomarev
Award-winning international photojournalist with over 15 years of experience in covering breaking news, wars and conflicts, sports and politics. Since starting his freelance career in 2012, he has worked mainly for the New York Times and other publications, including Paris Match, Volkskrant, Stern, and Figaro Magazine. His main objectives were developing a unique style and approach and developing visual storytelling techniques during that time. In 2016 he was part of the New York Times team that won a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the arrival of more than one million refugees from the Middle East and Africa to Western and Northern Europe. Sergey received the Robert Capa Gold Medal Award and three World Press Photo awards, among other awards. According to James Nachtwey, "Sergey's visual perception operates at a very high level. He has the ability to organize what he perceives in a compelling, complex manner using the full range of photographic vocabulary with great mastery."