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In short: The New York Times gives its editorial and product staff green light to use selected generative AI tools in order to enhance their work, and make their job easier. But just because these tools are available does not mean that they will be used in mass.
Semafor and The Times have seen documents and videos. The outlined how staffers should use artificial intelligence and how they shouldn’t. Employees are encouraged to use tools such as GitHub Copilot to create code, Google Vertex AI for product development and certain AI tools by Amazon to create quizzes, social copies and FAQ entries.
New York Times journalists are allowed to use AI tools to tighten paragraphs, create summaries for newsletters, suggest editing, and brainstorm search optimized headlines. The publication created its own AI-based summary tool, Echo, in order to help condense the content.
The guidelines note that the publication views AI not as a magical solution but, like previous advances, as a Use the powerful tool in service of your customers MissionThe Times could become more accessible with digitally voiced articles and language translation. In the future, generative artificial intelligence may be used in ways that we haven’t even thought of.
The Times installed guardrails to prevent misuse. Staffers are not allowed to use AI tools for drafting or significantly revising articles. They must also watch a mandatory video. Staff members are not allowed to use AI generated images or videos for stories. They should also be on the lookout for suggestions that might accidentally reveal protected sources.
The concept is not universally accepted. Semafor reports that some employees have expressed concern that AI could lead to laziness or inaccurate information, which would hinder the creative process. The Times does not expect a universal adoption of AI right out of the box.
TechSpot’s Ethics Statement was updated last year, stating that all editorial content has been written by humans. It does not rely upon AI tools for text creation. This maintains journalistic integrity and authentic.
Generative artificial intelligence in journalism can be a slippery path, but it is important to note that The Times’ guidelines align with industry standards and closely mirror our own ethics policies on the topic.
Image Credit: Marco LentiSarah Shull
