• Summarizing. Assisting us with summarizing content we have produced or content that has been produced by newsrooms to be used for training materials or internal notes.
• Repurposing. Helping us share content we have produced across multiple platforms. We always edit and check what was produced for accuracy and context.
• Headline/name suggestions. Providing ideas for headlines or name suggestions for published content, training offerings or similar projects. 
• Research. Assisting us with internal research necessary to help us work with newsrooms. We make sure to verify any information shared before acting on it.

• Creating images. At this time we do not anticipate using AI to help us create images for internal or public-facing content.
• Creating content from scratch. We do not plan on having AI create content for us from scratch, meaning formulating a prompt and using what it produces in our content. We plan to use AI as a tool to improve or supplement our content but not as a tool to create for us. 
• Publishing directly. We will not publish content created by AI without first always editing, fact-checking and reviewing.

If we use AI to help us create content, we will disclose our use of AI and include an explanation about how it was used. We have done this before in this Medium post by adding the following disclosure to the article:

As is central to our mission, we want newsrooms to communicate how they are using the technology with their communities. This will create transparency and understanding around a technology that can be scary, confusing and untrustworthy. We also want to make it easy for smaller news organizations to engage with the technology and create policies around their use of it so all newsrooms can benefit from it and build trust through their use of it. 

Poynter has published a guide to help newsrooms develop an ethics policy about their use of AI. At Trusting News, we see our role as helping newsrooms talk publicly about those policies while making sure it is easy to tell when AI has been used.

Journalists should not try to pass work or ideas off as their own if AI helped in the process. People will feel tricked and deceived, and that will only add to the negative thoughts they may have about news and “the media.” By disclosing and explaining your use of AI, you’re avoiding that. You’re also helping them better understand what AI is, how it can work and how it can be used. People will appreciate that, especially with a topic that may seem so confusing or overwhelming for some. 

While we believe disclosure and transparency are necessary, we don’t yet know enough about what a disclosure should include, how often it should be repeated and what language should be used to help build trust. (We have research in the works on those topics.) Based on other transparency work we have done with newsrooms, we want to start by encouraging newsrooms to do the following:

• Add explanations of AI use to each story they apply to
• Write explanations that are specific enough for people to understand how the technology was used (not a generic statement)
• Include definitions or short explanations about what technology was used and how it works
• Include language about why you used the technology. If it was to save time or increase efficiency, say that. Then consider sharing what you’re doing with that extra time. Maybe by saving time drafting headlines you now have more time to respond to comments or produce stories otherwise left uncovered, etc. If you explain how the use of the technology is helping you better serve your community by providing depth, better sourcing, better SEO, more reporting, etc. they are more likely to not assume you’re doing it to cut corners or because you’re lazy.

With research partners, Trusting News has been testing how newsrooms can best explain their ethics and news processes since 2016. We also have worked with researchers to study where transparency elements are most effective, what language works best and what to explain. 

Building on years of research and knowledge Trusting News is planning to work with researchers and newsrooms to determine what language should be used in disclosures and policies, where disclosures should go, how often they should be used and most importantly, how news consumers respond to all of it.

We’re looking for both researchers and funding partners interested in collaborating on testing strategies and building knowledge around the efficacy of AI policies and disclosures. Interested? Get in touch at info@TrustingNews.org.

Educating the community about AI and technology is one way we believe journalists can build trust with their audience. By demystifying complex technologies and explaining how they’re used in journalism and their community, journalists can foster transparency and understanding. They can also model responsible exploration with tools that can seem intimidating. This education can empower the audience to critically evaluate the role of AI in the world and make decisions about how they use it and want to see it used in their communities.

If journalists are seen by their community as a trusted and useful source of information and explanations about AI, it can build a stronger bond between journalists and their community, bolstering trust and credibility in the news they deliver. We want to help newsrooms explore how to best educate their communities about AI and help them use resources that are already out there from groups like The News Literacy Project and Aspen Digital.

By actively involving the audience in discussions about the use of AI in news production, journalists demonstrate a commitment to transparency and inclusivity. This approach allows journalists to understand community concerns, preferences, and expectations regarding AI, leading to more tailored and relevant reporting.

By soliciting feedback and insights from the community, we believe journalists can foster a sense of partnership and co-creation, empowering the community to actively participate in shaping the future of journalism. By valuing the input of their audience on AI and technology-related matters, journalists can build stronger relationships built on mutual respect, understanding, and trust.

We also believe AI can help journalists be more effective and efficient at engaging with their audience. Gather has discussed how AI can help build a community mind map and multiple newsrooms are exploring how AI chatbots can help provide more information to their users more quickly, including restaurant recommendations. We want to help newsrooms explore using the technology to help make engagement easier, more efficient and more easily part of the reporting workflow so it happens more often and consistently.