The IFJ argues that AI is transforming the way journalists work, and therefore, they need to be involved in discussions about its development and regulation. Stressing the importance of the current development in Culture through AI,
the IFJ's General Secretary, Tim Dawson, issued a statement saying:
“Imagine for the moment that all humanity has an enormously important decision to make. I’m talking about a choice that can shape our entire culture, determine who is rich and who is poor, and set the balance of power between corporations and individuals for the foreseeable future”.
The use of publications as the foundation for generative AI has media companies worried. Robert Thomson, the chief executive of News Corp, said recently that the organization was already looking for monetary reimbursement from an AI startup for the usage of its "proprietary" information. Barry Diller, Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC and Expedia Group and founded the Fox Broadcasting Company, speaking at the
Sir Harry Evans Global Summit in Investigative Journalism in London on Wednesday, declared that he would team up with News Corp and the German publishing house Axel Springer in an effort to defend the industry.
The Financial Times reported on Friday that the major AI owners had already held discussions with News Corp, Axel Springer, The New York Times, and The Guardian. "The deals could entail paying media organizations a subscription-style fee for their content in order to develop the technology underlying chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard" according to the publication.
“Full marks to the media moguls for spotting their opportunity – but their initiative raises profound issues” notes the IFJ in its statement. “For example, few of them own the copyright in everything they publish. What arrangements will there be to compensate the many photographers and writers who license their works for use only by the platform on which they are published? This group, incidentally, is far more numerous in Europe where many employed creators retain rights in their work” says IFJ which represents 600,000 journalists in 150 countries around the world.
European Associations of Journalists are moving towards claiming rights in the new environment for the protection of the production of Journalism. For example the Athenian Association of Journalists recently initiated a
copyright organization aiming to represent its members in negotiations with publishers and Digital companies in the new landscape. As AI is being used more frequently in journalism and content creation, the creators of such content want to ensure that the technology is being used ethically and responsibly. Industry reps like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman,
agree on the need to regulate new AI technologies.
