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Local News AI

Building tools and training newsrooms

AP’s Local News AI helps U.S. local newsrooms to identify and adopt artificial intelligence-based solutions. The program surveyed the U.S. local news landscape on AI readiness, published a report of the findings and created a six-unit course to teach to knowledge interests in AI and news. The program also developed blueprints for 15 newsroom projects that use AI and then created tools for five of those newsrooms.

The Local News AI initiative is made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Narrowing the technology gap between national and local newsrooms

AP worked with five newsrooms and university development teams at Northwestern University, Stanford University, and the University of Missouri to build these projects. The code base is available for use for free when indicated at AP’s GitHub repository, click the relevant blurbs below to access.

Our latest and upcoming webinars

Nov. 14, 2023: AI’s Impact on Search and Your Website Visibility.

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Oct. 12, 2023: Introducing Five AI Projects for Local Newsrooms

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March 1, 2023: ChatGPT & DALL-E: What Generative AI Means for Journalism

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Reporting on AI

There are many benefits for local newsrooms to implement tools that include automation and AI, however there are also complexities and risks inherent with tools that include AI. Below are links to recent AP investigations on how AI impacts society.

Tech tool offers police ‘mass surveillance on a budget’

U.S. police agencies have been using an obscuretracking tool to follow people’s whereabouts, sometimes without a warrant, AP finds. 

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Algorithm that screens for child neglect raises concerns

Investigative reporters probebias concerns about the use of algorithms to make key decisions in the U.S. child welfare system.

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How AI-powered tech landed man in jail with scant evidence

AP journalists investigate the impacts of the gunshot detection technology ShotSpotter in U.S. cities andcourtrooms.

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