How Journalists Can Use Artificial Intelligence

Summary

Alex Gordon, Senior Director at NBC News Group, discusses the role of AI in journalism, emphasizing its potential as an assistance rather than a replacement technology. He highlights AI's capabilities in transcription, image data capture, and generative AI, while stressing the importance of maintaining human oversight to ensure accuracy and avoid misinformation. Gordon also addresses the risks of AI-generated content and the need for vigilance in verifying information, advocating for the use of AI to detect and combat fake news, and to enhance journalistic work while upholding editorial standards.

Takeaways

• 🚫 AI should not replace human judgment in journalism as it could distort the truth and realism of a story.
• 🧙‍♂️ The speaker, Alex Gordon, warns of the irreversible nature of AI integration, likening it to a genie that cannot be put back in the bottle.
• 📚 AI is defined as the automation of human intelligence, aimed at easing manual tasks and not replacing human effort.
• 📈 NBC News Group has been using AI and machine learning for years, starting with simple tasks like transcription.
• 🔍 AI helps in capturing data from images, which would otherwise be manually logged, such as identifying people and objects in photos.
• 🛠 AI is viewed as an 'assistance technology' rather than a 'replacement technology', enhancing and sometimes replacing workflows but not people.
• 🐘 Generative AI, capable of creating content from human commands, is a significant concern due to its potential for misuse.
• 🚫 The risks of using AI-generated content on air are highlighted, including the potential for fake news and market manipulation.
• 🔍 Journalists need to be vigilant about the content they trust from the internet and use AI to help identify and combat fake content.
• 🔑 AI can be used to summarize large texts, generate conclusions from meetings, and upscale images, improving journalistic work.
• 👥 It's crucial for journalists to consult with their teams and leadership before using AI to ensure it enhances, rather than replaces, their work.
• 🎭 AI is also being used in the entertainment industry for cloning actors' faces and voices, and for CGI and visual effects.
• 📝 Journalists should not fear AI but should be cautious, maintaining editorial standards and best practices even when using AI tools.

Q & A

What is the primary concern about using AI in journalism as expressed by Alex Gordon?

The primary concern is that AI should not replace truth or realism in journalism. There's a risk of pushing out AI-generated content that could change the narrative of a story, which would make journalists no better than bad actors spreading misinformation.

What is Alex Gordon's position at NBC News Group?

Alex Gordon is the Senior Director for the product team at NBC News Group.

How does Alex Gordon define artificial intelligence in the context of its proper use?

He defines artificial intelligence as the automation of human intelligence, which should make life easier for tasks that currently require a lot of manual activity.

What was the initial application of AI in the context provided by the script?

The initial application of AI was in transcription services, automating the process of transcribing audio files into text, making it more self-serve and cost-effective.

What is the role of AI in capturing data from pictures as mentioned in the script?

AI captures data from pictures, such as identifying individuals or objects within an image, which would otherwise be manually logged.

How does Alex Gordon view AI in terms of its impact on jobs in the industry?

He views AI as an assistance technology rather than a replacement technology. AI should help and improve workflows and, where appropriate, replace certain workflows but not replace people.

What is generative AI and how does it differ from other forms of AI discussed in the script?

Generative AI is AI that can create text, images, and media from human commands. It is different from other forms of AI as it can generate new content rather than just process or analyze existing data.

What are the potential risks associated with using generative AI in journalism, as highlighted by Alex Gordon?

The potential risks include the creation and dissemination of fake content that could mislead the public, affect markets, and have real-world ramifications if used on air or manipulated by bad actors.

How can AI be used to combat the misuse of AI by bad actors, according to the script?

AI can be employed to quickly identify and flag fake content, essentially using AI to fight against the misuse of AI by bad actors.

What are some positive uses of AI in journalism that Alex Gordon mentions?

Positive uses include summarizing large quantities of text, generating conclusions based on meetings, and upscaling images to improve the quality of journalistic work.

What advice does Alex Gordon give regarding the use of AI in journalism?

He advises not to use AI in a vacuum, to consult with the team and leadership, and to ensure that AI does not replace human journalists but rather enhances their work while maintaining editorial best standards and practices.

How does Alex Gordon view the future of AI in journalism?

He is excited about the new possibilities AI brings to journalism but emphasizes the need for caution and maintaining journalistic integrity and standards.

Outlines

00:00

🤖 Ethical Use of AI in Journalism

Alex Gordon, Senior Director for the product team at NBC News Group, emphasizes the importance of using AI ethically in journalism. He warns against AI replacing human truth and realism, highlighting the potential risks of AI-generated content altering narratives. AI should be seen as an assistance technology, not a replacement for human journalists. The focus should be on improving workflows with AI, ensuring there is always a human element involved in the process. Gordon also discusses the challenges of generative AI, which can create media from human commands, and the need for vigilance in identifying and combating fake content.

🔍 AI's Role in Enhancing Journalistic Workflows

This paragraph delves into the practical applications of AI within NBC News Group. Initially, AI was used for transcription to automate and streamline the manual process of transcribing audio files. The technology has since expanded to include image recognition, which assists in capturing and logging data from images. The key takeaway is that AI is intended to aid journalists, not to replace them, and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their work without sacrificing the human touch.

🚫 Risks and Misuse of Generative AI

Generative AI, capable of creating text, images, and media from commands, is a double-edged sword. While it can be a powerful tool, it also poses significant risks if misused, such as creating fake content that can have real-world consequences. The paragraph discusses the potential dangers of using AI-generated content on air and the importance of maintaining editorial integrity. It also touches on the broader implications of AI altering existing content, such as changing statements that could impact financial markets.

🛡 Combating AI Misuse with AI

To counter the misuse of AI by bad actors, the editorial teams are employing AI to identify and verify content. The strategy is to use AI to fight against the fraudulent use of AI, thereby streamlining the process of detecting fake content. This approach is aimed at maintaining the integrity of journalism and ensuring that the content disseminated is accurate and trustworthy.

📈 AI's Potential in Journalism

The paragraph explores the potential benefits of AI in journalism, such as summarizing large quantities of text, generating conclusions from meetings, and upscaling images. It suggests that journalists are beginning to leverage AI to enhance their work, but it also stresses the importance of not using AI in isolation. The paragraph advises journalists to consult with their teams and leadership before implementing AI solutions to avoid inadvertently automating themselves out of a job.

🎭 AI in Visual Effects and Beyond

AI is not only revolutionizing the way actors' faces and voices are cloned but also transforming the field of CGI and visual effects, making them faster and more accessible. The paragraph suggests that while journalists should not fear AI, they should be cautious and maintain the highest editorial standards when incorporating AI into their work.

🌟 Embracing AI with Caution and Creativity

In conclusion, Alex Gordon encourages journalists to embrace AI with both caution and creativity. He stresses the importance of upholding editorial best practices and not using AI as a shortcut. The excitement lies in the new possibilities that AI brings to journalism, but it is crucial to remember that journalism is a human endeavor that should not be compromised by technology.

Keywords

💡AI

AI, or artificial intelligence, refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. In the video, AI is discussed as a tool that can automate tasks and assist in various workflows within journalism, but it's also cautioned against being used in place of human judgment or as a shortcut that could lead to misinformation.

💡Truth

Truth, in the context of the video, is the concept of factual accuracy and integrity in journalism. It is emphasized that AI should not replace the pursuit of truth, as there is a risk of AI-generated content altering the narrative of a story, which could mislead the audience.

💡Realism

Realism, as used in the script, pertains to the representation of things as they are in real life, without exaggeration or distortion. The video suggests that AI should not be used to create unrealistic narratives or visuals that could mislead or misinform.

💡Generative AI

Generative AI is a subset of AI that can create new content, such as text, images, and media, based on human commands. The video discusses the potential risks and ethical considerations of using generative AI in journalism, such as the creation of fake news or manipulated content.

💡Transcription

Transcription is the process of converting spoken language into written form. In the video, it is mentioned as one of the initial applications of AI in the news industry, where it automates the task of converting audio files into text, thus saving time and resources.

💡Automation

Automation refers to the use of technology to perform tasks with minimal human intervention. The video describes how AI can automate certain tasks in journalism, such as transcription and data capture from images, to improve efficiency.

💡Assistance Technology

Assistance technology is a term used in the video to describe AI's role as a supportive tool rather than a replacement for human workers. It highlights the importance of AI aiding journalists in their tasks without eliminating the need for human involvement and judgment.

💡Workflows

Workflows are the processes or sequences of tasks involved in work. The video discusses the use of AI to help improve and, where appropriate, replace certain workflows in journalism, with the emphasis on maintaining human oversight to ensure proper use.

💡Fake Content

Fake content refers to false or misleading information presented as genuine. The video warns about the risks associated with AI-generated fake content, such as altered images or videos, and the potential negative impacts it can have on public trust and market stability.

💡Vigilance

Vigilance in the video is the need for heightened awareness and caution when dealing with content on the internet, especially in the context of辨别fake content. It underscores the role of editorial teams in verifying information before publication to maintain journalistic integrity.

💡Upscale Images

Upscale images refers to the process of increasing the resolution of an image without losing quality. The video mentions this as one of the potential applications of AI in journalism, where it can enhance the visual quality of images to improve the presentation of news content.

💡Editorial Best Standards

Editorial best standards are the highest levels of quality and ethics expected in the creation and publication of journalistic content. The video emphasizes that even with the use of AI, these standards must be upheld to ensure responsible and accurate reporting.

Highlights

AI should not replace truth or realism in journalism, as it could lead to misinformation and unethical practices.

Alex Gordon, Senior Director at NBC News Group, emphasizes the importance of using AI properly to automate human intelligence and improve workflows.

AI has been used for transcription and picture data capture, reducing manual labor and increasing efficiency.

AI is viewed as an assistance technology, not a replacement for human journalists, ensuring the human element remains in the workflow.

Generative AI can create text, images, and media from human commands, but poses risks if misused to spread false information.

The potential misuse of AI-generated content can have real-world ramifications, such as affecting markets or public perception.

Journalists need to be vigilant in verifying the authenticity of content found online, as AI can be used to create convincing fakes.

AI can be employed to detect and counteract the misuse of AI by bad actors, using technology to fight against its own potential negative impacts.

Journalists are exploring the use of AI for summarizing large texts, generating conclusions, and upscaling images to enhance their work.

AI should not be used in isolation but discussed with teams and leadership to ensure it complements rather than replaces human work.

Experimentation with AI can be fun and beneficial, but it is crucial to maintain journalistic integrity and standards.

AI is being used in cloning actors' faces and voices, as well as in CGI and visual effects, making these processes faster and easier.

Journalists should not fear AI but should be cautious, maintaining best practices and editorial standards when incorporating it into their work.

Alex Golden expresses excitement about the new possibilities AI offers in journalism, while stressing the importance of responsible use.

Transcripts

AI should never be used by journalists in place of truth,

or realism. There may be no returning the AI genie to the

bottle. If we start to push out AI generated content that

changes the narrative of the story, we are no better than any

bad actors out there.

Greetings, I'm Alex Gordon. I'm Senior Director for the product

team at NBC News Group and welcome to NBCU Academy.

In terms of defining artificial intelligence, when used

properly, it is the automation of human intelligence, it should

make life easier for things that currently take a lot of manual

activity.

We've been involved with artificial intelligence and

machine learning for a good number of years. We started off

with something as simple as transcription. People in there

transcribing in a room off of video, we thought that we could

also cut costs by getting an AI solution that was more self

serve. They put it into a system as an mp3, get it back, it's

fully transcribed. The other side of that's capturing the

data of pictures, the picture text Biden at the podium, Trump

with a red hat. Those are things that currently would be manually

logged. The thing that always comes up is whether AI is a

quote unquote, replacement technology. We don't see it that

way. We see it as an assistance technology. Our charter for

using AI as a company is to have it help and improve workflows

and where it fits the use case, replace workflows, but not

replace people, it should always have that human element of being

monitored, being attached to some amount of human interaction

or workflow, so that we make sure it's being used the right

way.

The big elephant in the room becomes generative AI. And

obviously, that's the huge buzz on the block. So how can I help?

Generative AI is AI that can create text images and media

from human commands. Go ask it to do something and it will do

it. And you can talk to it. From fake pictures of Donald Trump

getting arrested to a fake video of President Biden instituting a

military draft. If we use something on air that was faked.

That's a huge potential risk, of course. But the other risk is if

somebody takes our content out there in the public space, and

changes it. What if somebody were to take Jim Cramer's words,

change them around, sell, sell, sell, that could affect markets.

There's actual real-world ramifications. Moving forward,

we need to be more vigilant with what we trust from the internet.

A lot of our editorial teams are using very time consuming

activities to be able to check for fake content. What AI can do

is quicken the process. We want to use fire to fight fire.

Employ AI as the best way to suss out the AI being used by

bad actors. There probably is more upside on how journalists

can actually use it, whether it's to take large quantities of

texts and summarize, to generate conclusions based on meetings,

upscale images, these are all things that I think journalists

are starting to tackle now as a way to have this AI improve the

work that they do. Don't use AI in a vacuum, make sure that you

have brought up this attempt to use AI to your own team

leadership, don't let AI do the work for you in such a way that

you then become the self perpetuating replacement of your

own job. This is serious breaking news. But a little

behind the scenes a little a little flavor. I'm with one of

the most legitimate correspondents on Earth. Have

fun, and experiment with what is out there. It can be fun to play

with. For sure. AI is not only being used to clone actors,

faces and voices. It's also being deployed to do CGI and

visual effects faster and easier than ever before. Should

journalists be afraid of AI? No, but should they be cautious

about it? Absolutely. We still believe that journalism is done

by journalists. But if we're going to use AI, we still need

to maintain the editorial best standards and best practices.

Those don't go away. Ai cannot be used as a shortcut. It's the

exciting new stuff that we're working on that excites me the

most. I'm Alex golden with NBCU Academy. Thanks for watching.