The year of wonder

"As AI accelerates and expands in media, journalism needs a pedagogy of wonder. This is an approach in education that encourages students to be critical, curious, and creative. For journalists, a pedagogy of wonder calls on them to become explorers, treating AI as a partner in inquiry to help them ask better questions, notice more, and deepen public understanding. It treats the newsroom as a learning space where curiosity is a method, and ethics is a practice."

"Wonder invites journalists to ask not, "How can AI help me?" but "What new questions can I ask with AI by my side?" In reporting, this means leveraging AI tools to find and scan public data to reveal patterns, then validating them with on-the-ground reporting. It means using language models to map absent voices in a debate. It transforms AI from an efficiency tool into a prism for the imagination."

"Philosophically, the idea that learning begins in wonder has roots in ancient Greek thought. Journalists can take a cue from Socrates in using AI. For Socrates, wonder began with seeing human limits, recognizing how little is known and how much there is to learn, and accepting that yesterday's answers may be inadequate. Following Plato's example, journalists can spark wonder by testing familiar ideas about news and considering unfamiliar and perhaps uncomfortable alternatives."

Journalism in 2026 embraces a pedagogy of wonder that encourages critical, curious, and creative inquiry. Journalists become explorers who treat AI as a partner in inquiry to ask better questions, notice more, and deepen public understanding. Newsrooms function as learning spaces where curiosity is a method and ethics is a practiced discipline. AI tools are used to scan public data, reveal patterns, map absent voices, prototype new storytelling formats, and validate findings with on-the-ground reporting. Philosophical roots in Socrates and Plato frame wonder as recognizing human limits and testing familiar ideas. Wonder increases creativity, strengthens critical thinking, and reframes AI as a prism for imagination rather than mere automation.

Read at Nieman Lab