Microsoft is making significant advances in artificial intelligence (AI) to change news reporting. According to reports, the internet giant is collaborating with various media companies to equip reporters with AI-powered tools to improve news coverage.
One significant relationship is with Semafor, a news business founded by former BuzzFeed chief editor Ben Smith. Microsoft is funding a feature dubbed “Signals” to promote emerging news and analysis on the site by leveraging AI to reveal worldwide sources quickly.
Microsoft is investing heavily in Semafor’s Signals project, which aims to use AI to help journalists identify various viewpoints on unfolding news events. The collaboration comes after criticism erupted over AI content-generation technologies such as ChatGPT, which generated complete news stories, raising worries about misrepresentation. Last year, the New York Times they have sued Microsoft and ChatGPT maker OpenAI for copyright infringement, saying that its stories were used to train AI models without pay.
Microsoft is also working with media organizations such as the Craig Newmark School of Media and the Online News Association to create ethical guidelines for AI use in newsrooms. As media outlets cope with new technologies such as chatbots, Microsoft is placing itself at the forefront of creating AI-based journalism products, intending to chart a path for AI-assisted reporting.
