VOA科学技术2023--News Organizations Team Up with AI Companies

News Organizations Team Up with AI Companies

Several major news organizations have teamed up with artificial intelligence (AI) developers to find new tools to help journalists do their work.

AI developer OpenAI recently signed a deal with the American Journalism¹ Project (AJP) to use AI tools to support local news across the United States. OpenAI is backed by American software maker² Microsoft. The AJP is a nonprofit group that provides financial assistance to local nonprofit U.S. news organizations.

Late last year, OpenAI released an AI tool called ChatGPT. ChatGPT and other so-called "chatbots" have demonstrated the ability to lead human-like discussions and produce complex writing based on short, written commands. Such tools are also known as "generative AI" or "large language models."

In its deal with the AJP, OpenAI promised to provide $5 million to expand the project's work and strengthen local journalism efforts. OpenAI is also offering the AJP an additional $5 million to help local news organizations deploy³ the latest AI tools.

Sarabeth Berman is head of the American Journalism Project. She said in a statement the cooperation with OpenAI aims to ensure that local news organizations can help shape the ways AI is used in journalism. Berman added, the partnership⁴ seeks to find ways for AI to improve journalism, "rather than imperil" it.

In addition, the partnership aims to support AJP's efforts to "create healthier information ecosystems⁶" at the local level to fight misinformation in news. The deal will help create a studio that can be used by local news organizations to experiment with OpenAI's technology.

The AJP's deal with OpenAI is one of several partnerships⁷ recently established between AI developers and news organizations.

Earlier this month, OpenAI announced it had signed a deal with The Associated Press to license⁸ the news agency's collection of news stories. OpenAI will use AP's news stories to train and develop its chatbot tool. No financial details of the deal were announced.

In addition, the two companies said in a statement they are examining how the AP could use "generative AI in news products and services."

The deal came after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) informed OpenAI it had opened an investigation⁹ into whether the company had taken part in unfair business activities. The investigation reportedly centers on whether OpenAI violated trade rules by training its language model on publicly available data.

Some news organizations, book writers and other creative artists have brought legal actions or sought compensation from companies that used their works to train AI systems.

The AP said it currently does not use any generative AI in its news story production. But it has long used other forms of AI. This includes a system that automatically produces corporate¹⁰ earnings¹¹ stories and some sports reports.

U.S.-based search engine Google also recently confirmed it was in talks with major news publishers about using a new AI tool it developed to help journalists report and write their stories. The project was first reported by The New York Times. The tool is being tested by the Times, as well as The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, the French news agency AFP reported.

The Times said the AI tool – which Google calls Genesis – was still in early form testing. However, a demonstration¹² of the system reportedly left newspaper officials "unsettled" when they saw the tool's abilities.

A Google spokeswoman confirmed in a statement the company had held discussions with news publishers on providing AI-based tools "to help their journalists with their work." The tool being tested was designed to do things like help journalists choose headlines and write in different styles, the Times reported.

The spokeswoman added that such tools were not meant to "replace the essential role journalists have in reporting, creating and fact-checking" their stories.

Words in This Story

journalist – n. someone who writes and reports news stories

imperil – v. to put someone or something in a dangerous situation

ecosystem⁵ – n. all the living things in an area and the way they affect each other and the environment

studio –n. a place where video or movies are produced; a place where creative work is done

license – v. to give someone official permission to do or have something

compensate¹³ – v. to give money or something of value in return for some action, loss or damage

automatic – adj. something controlled using machines and not people

headline – n. the title of a newspaper story that is printed in large letters above it

style – n. a way or method of doing something

essential – adj. completely necessary

1 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

4 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

5 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

6 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

7 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

8 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

11 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

12 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

13 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。