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If you have recently purchased a flagship smartphone, there is a good chance that you may not need a screen protector. In fact, most flagship smartphones now come with Corning Gorilla Glass protection which makes them highly resistant to scratches. However, many people still use screen protectors to provide their phone screens with additional protection. A screen protector is particularly useful when a phone is dropped from a height and hits the floor with significant force. But what should you do when the screen protector that has been on your phone for some time becomes damaged or covered with scratches? This can happen for various reasons such as accidentally placing the phone screen-down on a hard surface. Scratches can also occur when the phone is kept in a pocket with keys or coins. Although screen protectors are highly resistant to scratches, they are not completely scratch-proof. Dust and dirt can also affect the phone’s screen and increase the risk of scratches. So, if your screen protector becomes damaged, you can simply continue using the phone without replacing it immediately. Just try to keep the screen free from dust and make a habit of cleaning it regularly using a suitable screen-cleaning liquid and a soft cloth.

By Muhammad Aaraiz Altutmish  Two weeks ago, I attended a workshop under the project titled “Digital Trust and Free Expression in the AI Era” at the Department of Media and Development Communication, University of the Punjab, supported by the U.S. Mission to Pakistan in partnership with the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network (PUAN). The Workshop fetched together students, media persons, and experts to address one of the most significant topics framing advanced communication: the impression of AI on Media & Journalism.  Across the set of captivating sessions, presenters highlighted how Artificial Intelligence revolutionizing newsrooms, altering the way journalists collect information, inspect the facts and generate content. The fast development of technology specifically Artificial Intelligence (AI) has reshaped the advance digital world. AI is no longer a far-off concept; it has already integrated into the newsrooms and become a part of modern media networking. Therefore, media professionals and journalists can’t neglect this technology anymore. Instead they are continuously expected to develop their expertise and to modernize their skillset according to the changing media environment. This circumstance raises a significant question for journalism students who aim to foster their careers in the media industry. Should they first concentrate on learning the traditional basics or foundations of journalism, or should they prefer AI and developing technologies? While AI is transforming the means of working in media industry, journalism students are still needed to practice and learn the conventional principles and standards of journalism that have long been instructed in academic institutions. The AI development has brought prominent changes to writing, editing, publishing and content creation. Most of the operations can now be done in more quick and efficient way. Research functions have become effortless and many of newsroom tasks have been managed via technological tools. These advancements have transformed the media organizations operate and have affected many aspects of journalistic practices. Regardless of these changes, journalism education proceeds to emphasize the conventional methods of reporting, news values, interviewing techniques, fact- verification, and other foundational skills. Students are expected to master these standard practices while they also have to upskill themselves understanding and adapting to AI driven technologies and tools. As a result, journalism students often face the challenge of learning both traditional techniques and mastering themselves to developing technological skills within the same academic timeframe. This challenge becomes even more substantial for upcoming generations of media education and profession. They will have the same timeframe of study as former generations, still they may need to master a wide range of subjects and practical skills. Alongside traditional training of journalism, they will also require to develop their skillset related to AI, Digital media technologies, data driven networking and developing newsroom techniques. Consequently, media instructors, academic institutions, field professionals, and experts are set upon with a significant problem. They must reflect upon that how journalism education can accommodate both traditional practices of journalism and developing technological requirements. The hurdle stems in empowering students to master a wider spectrum of knowledge and practical experience within the existing timeframes and educational structures. The development of AI in journalism has therefore produced a new educational reality. While conventional journalism stands a central component of media education, technological developments continues to transform professional expectations. This continuing transformation spotlight the growing requirement to confront how future journalists can productively learn both the traditional practices of journalism and developing skills needed in an AI-driven media environment. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Mission to Pakistan or USEFP/PUAN.

By Muhammad Talha Karim A workshop under the project titled “Digital Trust and Free Expression in the AI Era” at the Department of Media and Development Communication, University of the Punjab, supported by the U.S. Mission to Pakistan in partnership with the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network (PUAN) made me ask myself that: “can a machine create, or does it only create what humans have already imagined?” Creativity has always been a phenomenal ability for human beings, which makes it unique from all other creatures. It helps us solve problems, create art, design new things, think differently, compose music, and write stories. The rapid development of AI has made machines so capable that they can generate music, create art, write essays, and even solve human-related problems. But a very serious question arises here: “Can AI truly be more creative than humans? AI has shown that it can perfectly help humans create new ideas. It simply analyzes the large amount of information, follow the pattern that is previously provided and by combining all the sources, generates content within few seconds. For example, can write an essay, assist you in providing you with the needed material, and make the stories for you. It can also make the process quicker by giving different alternatives. But, if we talk about human creativity, no AI-powered tool can match the detailing, background content and emotional support of a human creativity. AI-powered tools merely scan the information, combine it, rearrange the patterns and give you the required material. It does not use any kind of emotional power, background knowledge to do it. While on the very opposite side, human creativity holds this very significant and unique ability to use emotions, feeling and history with the art. Humans use attach emotions like love, loneliness, sadness, happiness, betrayal and attachment and many more and they are feeling with the art to create it perfectly. For example, if an artist creates a painting, it is not merely the amalgamation of colors, strokes and lines but it experiences the emotion that made the artist create the art. Human beings can physically and mentally feel that specific emotion and a sense of attachment with the art and artist. Creativity has always been deeply linked with emotions and feelings. Certainly, AI powered tools can create content more quickly, but it lacks a major factor “attachment”. It simply rephrases and rearrange the words that are already given and/or uploaded on it. but cannot explain it by using emotions. For instance, if a user commands any AI powered tool to write a story, it will be done in just few seconds, but it will lack the emotional attachment. On the other hand, a story written by a human being will be rich in emotions and feelings. Maybe the writer turned his own experience into the story. As the writer himself experienced that feeling, he can put that in words in such a way that it hits directly in the heart of the reader or any other person. They can feel more attachment to it. They can see themselves in that story, which connects people more strongly.   The second major factor is intention and purpose. Human beings have their purpose and intentions for doing a certain job. It can either be an emotion or a thought. Human beings can challenge the society, write to change the entire perspective of a group of people, and many other reasons while AI does not possess any of this. It writes only because it is being commanded. It does not experience childhood, young age, love, hate, separation, loneliness – nothing at all which makes it merely a content provider while Human beings are the content experiencers. They personally go through those feelings and phases, and they can better explain this!   Despite all these differences, both AI and Human creativity can go together. Humans can provide emotions, feelings, ideas and content while AI can provide speed, more information, new ideas and solutions to different problems. Instead of making AI and humans competitors they can become partners and offer better outcomes. For example, a graphic designer can ask AI to give him various initial concepts and then use his own concepts and creativity to make the best one.  AI may be able to imitate creativity, but human creativity comes from a life that no machine has ever lived. AI has changed the way humans think about creativity. No matter how Fastly AI can generate the content to create pictures, write stories and compose music, it still cannot connect it with emotions. But human beings connect emotions, feelings, thoughts, ideas more creatively. As a human being, it’s the need for us to keep getting the content, art, music and information which emotionally connects us with each other. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Mission to Pakistan or  USEFP/PUAN.

By Ali Ijaz In today’s digital world, news is no longer something we wait for in the morning newspaper or watch at a fixed time on television. It reaches us while we are having breakfast, scrolling through social media, checking messages, or simply browsing our phones. One click can take a piece of information from a small post to a global story within minutes. But behind this incredible speed lies an important question: Are we becoming faster at sharing information than we are at checking the truth? This is where the ethics of journalism in digital spaces becomes more important than ever. I attended a workshop under the project titled “Digital Trust and Free Expression in the AI Era” at the Department of Media and Development Communication, University of the Punjab, supported by the U.S. Mission to Pakistan in partnership with the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network (PUAN) where we discussed ethical issues in digital journalism in detail. The digital revolution has completely transformed journalism. Traditional journalists once worked mainly for newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. Today, journalists also work through websites, social media platforms, podcasts, YouTube channels, newsletters, and mobile applications. The platforms have changed, but the fundamental responsibility of journalism remains the same: to inform people accurately, fairly, responsibly, and honestly. Digital journalism gives journalists an opportunity to reach millions of people instantly. At the same time, it creates new ethical challenges. A journalist is no longer competing only with another newspaper or television channel. They are competing with thousands of posts, influencers, bloggers, anonymous accounts, and algorithms—all fighting for people’s attention. And in this race for attention, truth can sometimes become the casualty. One of the biggest challenges in digital journalism is the pressure to be first. When breaking news happens, every newsroom wants to publish it immediately. Social media makes this pressure even stronger. A journalist may feel that if they wait five minutes to verify information, another platform will publish the story first. But journalism is not a competition to see who can press “publish” fastest. Being first is valuable. Being correct is essential. An unverified headline can spread thousands of times before the journalist even gets a chance to correct it. By then, the damage may already be done.This is why ethical digital journalism requires journalists to pause, verify sources, check facts, and distinguish between confirmed information and speculation—even when everyone else is rushing to post. Perhaps the most visible ethical problem in digital spaces is misinformation. A dramatic headline, edited video, misleading photograph, or false claim can easily go viral. Sometimes people share such content because they believe it is true. Sometimes they share it simply because it supports what they already believe. For journalists, however, “everyone is sharing it” is never enough evidence. Ethical journalism requires verification.  Digital media has introduced another major ethical challenge: clickbait. Websites and social media platforms often depend on clicks, views, shares, and engagement. This creates pressure to write shocking headlines. There is nothing wrong with making a headline interesting. Journalism should be engaging. The ethical problem begins when a headline exaggerates, hides important context, or deliberately misleads the audience simply to generate clicks. A journalist’s goal should not be to trick people into opening a story. The goal should be to make people want to read the truth. Digital journalism also raises difficult questions about privacy. Because information can be shared instantly, journalists may have access to photographs, private messages, personal social-media posts, and other sensitive information. But the fact that something is available online does not automatically mean that it is ethical to publish it. Imagine a person experiencing a tragedy. Their photograph may already be circulating online. Does that mean a news organization should publish it? Not necessarily. Ethical journalism requires journalists to consider human dignity, consent, public interest, and potential harm. There is an important difference between what the public wants to know and what the public needs to know. Responsible journalism understands that difference. The rise of artificial intelligence has added another layer to digital journalism. AI can help journalists research topics, analyze large amounts of information, translate material, summarize documents, and produce content more efficiently. But it also creates risks. AI-generated images, manipulated videos, synthetic voices, and automatically generated text can make false information appear extremely convincing. This means journalists must become even more careful about verification. At the same time, news organizations should be transparent about how AI is used. If AI plays a significant role in producing or altering journalistic content, audiences deserve appropriate disclosure. Technology can assist journalism, but technology cannot replace journalistic responsibility. Ethical journalism is not only the responsibility of journalists. Audiences also play an important role in the digital information ecosystem. Every time we share a post, forward a message, repost a video, or comment on a breaking story, we participate in the distribution of information. Before sharing something, we should ask ourselves: “Do I know this is true, or do I simply want it to be true?”That small question can make a huge difference. Digital literacy is therefore becoming an essential part of responsible citizenship. We must learn to recognize unreliable sources, misleading headlines, manipulated media, and information taken out of context.Technology will continue to change journalism. Tomorrow’s journalists may use tools that we cannot even imagine today. News may become faster, more personalized, and increasingly influenced by artificial intelligence and algorithms. But one thing should remain unchanged: the value of truth. A journalist’s greatest asset is not many followers, viral posts, or millions of views. It is credibility. People should be able to look at a news organization or journalist and believe that the information has been gathered responsibly, verified carefully, and presented honestly. In a world where everyone can publish something, journalism must prove why it deserves to be trusted. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Mission to Pakistan or USEFP/PUAN.