The New York Times unveils internal AI tool for its newsroom

NYT

Popular American publication outlet, The New York Times (NYT), has jumped on the artificial intelligence (AI) bandwagon and greenlighted the use of AI for its product and editorial staff. The news publication has now included AI into everyday editorial work, as it will be used for social media texts, SEO titles, and even programming. The move was announced through an internal email, which confirmed that both product and editorial staff of the NYT will receive AI training.

The New York Times will use AI tools for its daily copies

As mentioned earlier, the NYT staff were reportedly sent new editorial guidelines detailing permitted uses of the publication’s new AI internal tool named Echo and other AI tools, to suggest edits and revisions for their work. Moreover, these tools will help in generating summaries and promotional copy for social media or SEO headlines.

Further, the company’s editorial guidelines added “Generative AI can assist our journalists in uncovering the truth and helping more people understand the world. Machine learning already helps us report stories we couldn’t otherwise, and generative AI has the potential to bolster our journalistic capabilities even more.” Additionally, a training video was also shared with employees showing how AI can be used in tasks like developing news quizzes or suggesting interview questions.

However, the NYT has still reiterated its desire to keep a human touch in its journalism.
In a memo last year, the company promised that "Times journalism will always be reported, written and edited by our expert journalists." AI will also not be used by the NYT to fully draft articles, significantly revise them, or process third-party copyrighted material.