Microsoft partners with Semaphore to present breaking news with artificial intelligence. communication and media

Technology giant Microsoft this Monday announced a series of agreements with news organizations to implement generic artificial intelligence tools in content production. Among various collaborations, the alliance with the Semaphore platform stands out to create a global source of breaking news, named Signal, in which journalists, using the tools of Microsoft and its subsidiary Open AI, the famous ChatGate Manufacturing firm. Microsoft says, “Our goal is to find ways to support journalists, not replace them.”

“Signal responds to the profound and continuous changes in the digital media landscape and news in the post-social media era, as well as the risks and opportunities posed by artificial intelligence,” Semaphore announced when introducing the new product. Semaphore appears to receive signals from a variety of media as sources and summarizes its content into short publications. For example, what it broadcasts this Monday are news summaries that cite sources. The Times, The Washington Post, Der Spiegel, CBS News And financial Times, among many others. Many of these media are paid, while Semaphore Signals offers this content for free.

Microsoft’s agreements with various media and organizations come at a time when the company, along with OpenAI, is facing a lawsuit. new York Times For unauthorized use of its contents to train artificial intelligence technologies.

“Microsoft is launching several collaborations with news organizations to drive the adoption of Generative AI. In a year when billions of people around the world will vote in democratic elections, journalism is essential to building healthy information ecosystems, and our mission, in collaboration with the sector, is to ensure that newsrooms this year and innovate to deliver service Can do. future,” the Satya Nadella-led company said in the statement announcing their collaboration.

The technology giant ensures that with its alliances it is helping various organizations to identify and perfect the processes and policies to responsibly use artificial intelligence in news gathering and business practices. He says, his idea is to “help train the new generation of journalists in the best use of AI and identify ways in which AI can help create efficient business practices and sustainable newsrooms for generations to come.” “Can help create.”

various agreements

Agreements are of different nature. In the case of Semaphore, this will facilitate access to trusted local, national and global sources and translation of their content. For its part, the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism (CUNY) at Columbia University in New York is offering experienced journalists a free to explore ways to incorporate generative AI into their work and their newsroom in a hybrid and highly interactive three-month Will invite you to the program. tall. This artificial intelligence journalism lab will be directed by data scientist, entrepreneur and presenter Nikita Roy podcast Newsroom Robot, which explores applications of AI in journalism.

Microsoft has also signed up with the Online News Association (ONA), which has launched a program to help journalists and newsroom managers navigate the changing AI ecosystem; The GroundTruth Project, which sends local journalists into newsrooms around the world, and Nota, a startup dedicated to introducing high-quality AI tools to newsrooms to help improve their operations, which are now Has expanded to more than 100 newsrooms with support from Microsoft. Nota will soon launch a new tool called Proof, which will advise journalists and editors on how to better deliver their content to audiences through readability, SEO analysis, links and other features.

Each of those organizations will have access to Microsoft experts, technology and support throughout the year and have committed to sharing the results of their projects with the industry. “By working directly with newsrooms, universities, journalists and industry groups, we will help these organizations use AI to grow audiences, streamline time-consuming tasks in newsrooms, and create sustainable business operations. The company says, “Our goal is to support thriving and sustainable newsrooms with the technology needed to do the essential work of informing the world.”

The use of artificial intelligence is an opportunity and a threat to traditional newsrooms. Microsoft tries to reassure about its risks with a speech in defense of journalism and journalists, although one of the possibilities is that many of the content that was previously produced by editors will now be generated by artificial intelligence tools. .

“Local, national and global news organizations depend on the ability to responsibly innovate with emerging technology to remain competitive. The existence of fact-based news is inextricably linked to healthy democracies, thriving communities and civic participation,” the company says, noting that journalism is essential to combating misinformation and threats to democracy.

“At the center of all these commitments are the journalists themselves. There is no healthy news organization without journalists who know their communities and their issues, who have deep relationships with leaders in government and civic life, and who know how to reach their communities. “This work is hard, and our goal is to find ways to support journalists in this mission, not replace them,” he concluded.