• by Ray Schultz , August 16, 2023

The Associated Press has joined a small but growing list of news organizations that have issued guidelines on artificial intelligence.

AI cannot be used to create publishable content and images for AP, the news service says, according to an AP news report. Still, AP encourages staff members to learn about AI. 

In addition, all AI material should be vetted carefully, AP adds. And AI-generated photos, videos or audio segments should not be used unless they are the subject of a story, AP writes. 

The AP stylebook used by many news organizations will add a chapter on the subject today.  

“Our goal is to give people a good way to understand how we can do a little experimentation but also be safe,” says Amanda Barrett, vice president of news standards and inclusion at AP.

However, this comes barely a month after  the Associated Press and Open AI announced they are collaborating to examine potential use cases for generative AI. 

Under the arrangement, OpenAI will license part of AP’s text archive, while AP will make use of OpenAI’s technology and product expertise, reports state. 

The Guardian recently updated its editorial code to state that ““AI systems should not be used to generate text or images intended to be directly inserted into published journalism outside of exceptional and specific circumstances.”

In a similar way, Wired will not publish AI-generated stories “except when the fact that it’s AI-generated is the point of the whole story,” AP writes. 

Earlier this month, OpenAI announced a $395,000 grant to fund a journalism ethics initiative at New York University.