Russian Journalists Say AI Can’t Replicate Human Emotion

As artificial intelligence gains traction in media, Russian journalists remain confident that machines can’t master the art of emotional storytelling.

While AI can rapidly process massive datasets and handle complex tasks, it falls short in one critical area—emotions. That’s the view shared by veteran Russian journalist Rifat Sabitov, who spoke at the 'Russian North' media forum.

According to Sabitov, artificial intelligence is a useful tool, but it will never be capable of feeling joy, sorrow, pride, despair, or empathy. He argued that these emotional nuances define great journalism—and they remain beyond the reach of machines.

He acknowledged that AI will continue to evolve, but insisted it will never reach the mastery of classic Russian writers like Ilf and Petrov. Crafting prose that ‘reads between the lines,’ he said, requires subtlety, irony, and a human touch that no algorithm can mimic.

“AI might write well and grammatically correct,” Sabitov noted. “But will it ever embed meaning in subtext? That remains an open question.”