Artificial intelligence and media labour transformation in Arab journalism: professional identity, behavioural change, and ethical challenges

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly reshaping the media industry by transforming newsroom technologies, professional identity, and journalistic practices. This study examines how AI-driven systems, including automated news production, audience analytics, and multimedia tools, are restructuring labor processes and influencing behavioral patterns within Arab media organizations. Drawing on Technological Determinism and Media Practice Theory, the study adopts a conceptual analytical approach based on recent scholarly and institutional literature as well as documented regional and international experiences. The analysis explores the impact of AI integration on professional identity, decision-making routines, and managerial strategies, while also addressing ethical concerns related to algorithmic bias, editorial autonomy, and transparency. Particular attention is given to the Arab media context, where linguistic complexity, uneven digital readiness, and limited governance frameworks shape journalists’ interactions with AI technologies. The findings indicate that AI adoption creates both opportunities and tensions, enhancing efficiency and data-driven journalism while generating professional uncertainty, behavioral adaptation, and ethical challenges. The study concludes that sustainable integration of AI in journalism requires a human-centered approach that prioritizes professional identity, ethical governance, and interdisciplinary collaboration, contributing to a deeper understanding of media labor transformation in contemporary Arab media environments. Theoretically, the study advances a conditional-determinism framework - an integration of Technological Determinism and Media Practice Theory in which the force of technological pressure is treated not as a constant but as a variable conditioned by institutional capacity, governance maturity, and linguistic infrastructure - and formalises it in three testable propositions. Practically, it translates this framework into an editorial AI-governance architecture, a phased implementation roadmap, and a five-dimensional readiness assessment designed for Arab newsrooms.