Every journalist wants their audience to trust them. In return the audience expects their journalist to be accurate, fair and impartial. Throw artificial intelligence (AI) into the mix and things can get trickier if you’re not prepared. AI-tools are hugely beneficial to so many newsrooms but they come at a cost. The cost, if you don’t have the right policies in place, can be reputational damage, legal trouble and damage to audience trust. So if you’re using AI or you plan it’s time to take the ethical approach.

As Hosam El Nagar from the Thomson Foundation explains:

“Whether it is in news gathering or news production, or with user data, the more places you use AI in your workflow, the more checks and balances you must introduce in your various guidelines, policies, workflows and procedures.”

This course will guide you through the right approach to take and help you on your way to attaining certification with the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI).

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Understand what is meant by AI-related technology and the role it plays in society
• Explain how AI is impacting journalism and identify the ethical implications involved
• Appreciate how AI is used in the creation, dissemination and curation of news, and understand the journalist’s role in this process
• Understand why it is essential to ensure that any AI tools remain aligned with your newsroom’s core values and goals at all times
• Formulate an ethical newsroom policy in line with JTI best practice
• Adapt editorial processes in response to future developments in AI
• Ensure that your organisation’s approach to AI is compliant with JTI

Course Syllabus:

1. Defining AI
2. The impact of AI
3. The challenges for newsrooms
4. Getting it right for your audience
5. The ethical newsroom policy
6. Managing your relationship with AI
7. End of course survey