Global media groups urge AI developers to counter misinformation

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A global group of broadcasters and publishers is calling on artificial intelligence developers to make sure their technology serves the public by helping to counter misinformation and protect the value of fact-based news, according to the Associated Press.

The Geneva-based European Broadcasting Union, an association of public broadcasters that’s also known for running the popular Eurovision Song Contest, says it and the World Association of News Publishers and other partners want to cooperate with tech companies behind AI.

The group says thousands of public and private media in broadcast, print and online formats have joined the “News Integrity in the Age of AI” initiative, whose five core steps were announced Monday at the World News Media Congress in Krakow, Poland.

The initiative is calling for news content to only be used in generative AI models with the authorization of the content originator, and for clarity about attribution and accuracy. It says the original news source behind AI-generated material must be “apparent and accessible.”

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Among the media affiliates along with EBU and WAN-IFRA — as the association of news publishers is known — are Latin American broadcasters association AIL; the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union; and the North American Broadcasters Association, which counts Fox, Paramount, NBC Universal and PBS among its members.

Since AI surged into public awareness with the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022, legacy media have grappled with how best to use the technology, and whether to cooperate with or even combat the companies behind it.

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