Tuesday 9th July: AI tips for media leaders

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This is the second part of a lengthy chat I had with Ian Betteridge about AI and publishing (the first part is here about how he thinks there’s 5 years of pain ahead for the industry…a sobering but necessary read).

There is some solid advice in here for senior leaders about how to go about implementing AI in your business. Lead from the top, get ‘champions’ throughout the business and have clear guidance…but for me the most salient point was what Ian said when I asked what leaders should do if, best case scenario, staff end up with more time on their hands.

“If AI allows efficiencies of 20-30%, you want to focus on development,” he explained. “Development is something that teams habitually don’t spend enough time doing…It futureproofs you. If you’ve got teams that are actually learning more about technology, and learning about different ways of doing things… then you’re going to be better prepared for whatever the future throws at us.”

As beautiful a juxtaposition as this headline makes, it’s actually a little unfair to the NYT, who say the ChatGPT headline experiment was a very early one that wasn’t taken beyond testing. Nonetheless, it highlights the difficult position many publishers are facing. Surely though, the NYT has the resources to build its own headline generator/refiner based solely on its own content…

“Rather than convening a panel of experts talking in wondrous wonky detail about policy details and insider wheeling and dealing, [host Astead Hernon’s] approach is to get out and find the people who are actually going to decide this thing.” A nice story, but depressing when talking to ordinary people is described as an ‘interesting approach’ rather than a journalism basic.

The latest in the Meta vs The World saga. It’s once again threatening to ban links to news in Australia – which it did briefly in 2021 before instead agreeing to voluntarily make payments to new orgs – and unsurprisingly it now has no interest in renewing them. The Canada ban shows that unfortunately Meta holds all the cards here, and the ones who will suffer are smaller news companies and those seeking accurate information.

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