Artificial intelligence is finding its place in journalism, art, digital photography, and many other fields. Still, it remains a gray zone, and it’s hard to catch up with it and set the laws to match the new reality we live in. But it looks like we’re getting there. The Associated Press has just announced AI guidelines for its journalists. While they do encourage experimentation with AI, thankfully, it won’t replace journalists and photographers any time soon.
In the announcement, the AP notes that “accuracy, fairness and speed are the guiding values for AP’s news report.” They believe “the mindful use of artificial intelligence can serve these values and over time improve how [they] work.”
“However, 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. We do not see AI as a replacement of journalists in any way.”
The guidelines
The AP notes that it has a licensing agreement with OpenAI and encourages its staff to experiment with ChatGPT. However, they’re required to do it “with caution” and they can’t create “publishable content” with generative AI. The journalists and editors are invited to “apply their editorial judgment and AP’s sourcing standards when considering any information for publication.”
When it comes to images, the AP doesn’t alter any elements of their photo, video, or audio material. Therefore, the staff isn’t allowed to use generative AI to change any elements in these materials. However, they can use AI-generated images in some publications. This only goes for articles that have AI as the subject of the news. And in cases of using AI, the journalists need to clearly label it.
“Generative AI makes it even easier for people to intentionally spread mis- and disinformation through altered words, photos, video or audio, including content that may have no signs of alteration, appearing realistic and authentic. To avoid using such content inadvertently, 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.”
Finally, the AP invites journalists to rely on their common sense above all. If they have “any doubt at all about the authenticity of the material, they should not use it.” In addition to the new AI guidelines, the AP’s journalism follows its Statement of News Values and Principles. You can check out the full AI guidelines on AP’s website. And you can now relax – it looks like AI won’t replace you as a journalist or a photojournalist any time soon.
[via The Verge]
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