Dubai forum to examine AI agents’ role in journalism and digital publishing

The University of Dubai and the Artificial Intelligence Journalism for Research and Forecasting (AIJRF) will host an international forum on Nov 25 and 26 to examine how increasingly autonomous artificial intelligence systems are changing journalism, digital publishing and the wider digital economy.

The sixth edition of the Artificial Intelligence Journalism World Forum (AIJWF 2026) will bring together academics, media professionals, technology specialists, researchers and digital economy representatives at the University of Dubai. Discussions will centre on the growing use of AI agents that can plan tasks, coordinate with other systems and carry out multi-step workflows with varying levels of human supervision.

AI governance and editorial accountability on the agenda

The programme will examine how organisations can manage content created or handled by AI agents while maintaining transparency, accuracy and public trust.

Planned discussion areas include responsibility for AI-generated material, human oversight, data privacy, intellectual property, fact-checking and disclosure standards. The forum will also consider how automation may affect media jobs and which responsibilities will continue to depend on human judgement, creativity and strategic decision-making.

The organisers have identified seven broad areas for discussion, spanning AI-driven business models, digital content infrastructure, innovation, regulation, human-centred AI and the relationship between human workers and autonomous systems.

University students to develop AI agent prototypes

The event will also introduce the University Agentic AI Lab, an initiative designed to give university students practical experience in developing AI agents.

The programme will begin with training on how to design and build these systems before participants work in teams to create prototype solutions. The initiative is intended to move students beyond using existing AI applications towards understanding how to develop systems that can perform defined tasks.

The organisers have positioned the lab as an applied component of the forum, linking discussions about AI’s future with hands-on student participation.

University leaders highlight need for responsible AI development

Eesa Mohammed Al Bastaki, president of the University of Dubai and a member of AIJRF’s advisory board, said universities would have an important role in preparing people to design, manage and govern intelligent systems, rather than simply use them.

Mohamed Abdulzaher, chief executive officer of AIJRF and president of the forum’s sixth edition, described agentic AI as a significant shift in how digital work is organised. He highlighted the potential for AI agents to take on tasks across research, editing, video production, publishing and distribution, while noting that such workflows can operate with different degrees of human oversight.

The forum will therefore address both the operational possibilities of agentic AI and the questions of responsibility that arise when systems perform more stages of content production. Its discussions are intended to bring academic, media, government and technology organisations into a shared conversation about innovation, accountability and public trust.