How AI could shape the future of journalism

[Brink]

Editor’s note: What impact can AI have on journalism? That is a question the Google News Initiative is exploring through a partnership with Polis, the international journalism think tank at the London School of Economics and Political Science. The following post is written by Mattia Peretti, who manages the program, called Journalism AI.

From the New York Times using artificial intelligence to find untold stories in millions of archived photos, to Trint using voice recognition to transcribe interviews in multiple languages, journalists around the world are applying AI in new and varied ways. When faced with financial, ethical and editorial questions around how the use of AI could impact their work, modern news organizations are exploring a wide variety of approaches to bring these new technologies to their newsrooms.

With the expert advice of newsroom leaders from Europe, the U.S. and Asia Pacific, we crafted a survey of more than 20 questions, ranging from the technical (which AI technologies have you adopted?) to the ethical (are you aware of AI biases, and how do you avoid them?). Over the last few weeks, newsrooms from all over the world have completed the survey, with contributions coming in from every continent. Their responses will lay the foundation of a report we will publish this fall, to draw a picture of how media is currently using—and could further benefit from—AI technologies.

Charlie Beckett presenting Journalism AI in London.

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[RoWin7]

Glad I won't be here to see it. I already see how AI is replacing jobs at the bottom of the totem pole--toll clerks, supermarket cashiers, parking garage attendants. The supermarket's not giving me a discount for using the self-checkout, but they're saving money on hiring 4 more cashiers. These people aren't being "freed up for creative work;" they're losing their jobs. I refuse to use self-checkouts.

Now I see videos on Youtube being narrated by dead, toneless voices. The joy of AI at work again.