Associated Press Sets Ground Rules For Using AI In News Coverage

Photo 213644548 © Transversospinales | Dreamstime.com

Human journalists aren’t going anywhere, the Associated Press (AP) reassures staff and dedicated readers as artificial intelligence makes sweeping changes across the world.

On the heels of the New York Times making moves to block AI scraping, the wire service, too, has introduced guidelines to outline its response to the burgeoning technology.

While AP has a licensing agreement with ChatGPT owner OpenAI for employees to get acquainted with such tools, it stresses that its journalists are restricted from creating “publishable content” with generative AI, including news articles and images.

Against the evolving landscape, AP says it is upholding the same standards long expected of its journalists. “The central role of the AP journalist—gathering, evaluating and ordering facts into news stories, video, photography and audio for our members and customers—will not change,” emphasizes Amanda Barrett, vice president for standards and inclusion at the media outlet, in a blog post.

“We do not see AI as a replacement of journalists in any way,” Barrett reiterates.

Noting the existing shortcomings of generative AI, such as its tendency to hallucinate facts, potentially infringe copyright, and risks surrounding misinformation and disinformation, Barrett urges writers and editors to take due accountability for their reportage and ensure “accuracy and fairness of the information we share,” as they always have.

Content crafted from generative AI tools should always be treated as “unvetted source material,” the company elaborates, meaning AP staff should run the necessary fact-checks and back passages up with actual sources.

In regards to using generative AI on images, the publisher states that it will not “alter any elements” of photos, videos, and audio using these tools. It will also “refrain from transmitting any AI-generated images that are suspected or proven to be false depictions of reality,” unless those illustrations are central to a story, in which case they will be accompanied by a caption indicating a synthetic origin.

“Journalists should exercise the same caution and skepticism they would normally, including trying to identify the source of the original content, doing a reverse image search to help verify an image’s origin, and checking for reports with similar content from trusted media,” Barrett notes. 

Editorial staff who have “any doubt at all” about the material at hand should not use it at all, Barrett adds.

All told, AP isn’t closing the door on generative AI tools. Through its partnership with OpenAI, the news outlet is licensing its old news stories to the AI platform for training purposes so that ChatGPT and other offerings can learn to overcome spouting falsehoods.

“We are pleased that OpenAI recognizes that fact-based, nonpartisan news content is essential to this evolving technology, and that they respect the value of our intellectual property,” Kristin Heitmann, AP senior vice president and chief revenue officer, announced in July. “AP firmly supports a framework that will ensure intellectual property is protected and content creators are fairly compensated for their work.”

[via Engadget, Gizmodo, Associated Press, cover photo 213644548 © Transversospinales | Dreamstime.com]