All eyes have been on the Olympics and Paralympics this summer. No media has been immune, and as it happens the spectacle has more than justified the attention. Now, however, it’s Back To School time, and what’s clear is that the problems brewing before the summer have not had the decency to go away while our attention was elsewhere. Which means it’s time to talk about AI again.
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After a summer of sport it doesn’t seem out of place to recall the words of Bill Shankly, manager of Liverpool football club. He once said that “some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”
Substitute AI for football and that’s what we’re left with as this sporting summer slips away.
On the subject of life and death, leaving aside the financial threat to news publishers, AI has been seized upon as the answer to the genuine mortal danger facing journalists in Venezuela where local journalists are using AI avatars to avoid being identified in a media crackdown. You don’t have to be disguising yourself to see the uses of AI in news however, as the sporting summer shows.
Over in the US, Al Michaels, an American sports commentator described by Radio France as an American version of Patrick Mantel/Jean-Michel Larqué lent his voice to an entirely AI generated commentary of the Olympics highlights. The results were generally agreed to be surprisingly good. Typical American razzmatazz? Couldn’t happen here in Europe? Then perhaps you weren’t listening in to the AI-generated 2 Minutes Chrono, the Olympics coverage from L’Équipe. AI is fast finding niches in news.
Which shows that AI is making its way into news, like it or not. Larger news organisations have the choice of fighting the tech giants by suing, or co-operating with them in return for funding. In the US the entire state of California stepped in to ensure that money went to the press.
But what about those of us who aren’t the New York Times, or a US state? What about all those small to medium sized news organisations who are aware of the need to learn to swim in AI waters but have limited funds to make it happen?
Your chance to get on board?
At Upgrade Media we’re keeping an eye on that issue and will publish funding opportunities as we find them. We’ve already spotted that most of the information on the subject is in English, with less guidance in French. For example, Google’s News Initiative is currently offering funding to small and medium sized news organisations. They are looking for 35 news organisations around the world (and yes, we checked, that includes France) to put themselves forward for ten $250,000 grants, and 25 more of $50,000. Despite Google having a well-known translation product it hasn’t translated that offering into French, but the terms and conditions are available here. There are information sessions (in English) on Thursday the 19th of September, and Wednesday the 25th.
The goal is to encourage experimentation with AI whether that means fact-checking, fighting disinformation, or new formats and revenue streams.
Interested, but looking for a helping hand from our English-speaking staff? Then get in touch.
About Upgrade Media: Upgrade Media is a creative agency, strategy consultancy, training center and media transformation think tank, through its brand New World Encounters.
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