The New York Times is forming a team to explore the use of generative AI in its newsroom. The team will focus on prototyping uses of generative AI and other machine-learning techniques to enhance reporting and how the Times is presented to readers. The Times plans to hire a machine learning engineer, a software engineer, a designer, and a couple of editors for this initiative. The team, led by the editorial director for AI initiatives, will collaborate with other teams to bring the best ideas from prototype to production. The Times emphasizes that its journalism will always be done by expert journalists, despite incorporating AI tools. The Times has had a contentious relationship with generative AI, including blocking OpenAI’s web crawler and filing a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft. Other news organizations, such as Axel Springer and the Associated Press, have also begun exploring the use of AI in newsrooms. The Times’ experiment with AI will still involve human journalists writing the news.
