The Associated Press and OpenAI have reached an agreement to share access to select news content and technology as they examine potential use cases for generative AI in news products and services.
The arrangement sees OpenAI licensing part of AP’s text archive, while AP will leverage OpenAI’s technology and product expertise. Both organizations will benefit from each other’s established expertise in their respective industries, and believe in the responsible creation and use of these AI systems.
The collaboration builds upon AP’s efforts over nearly a decade to use automation to make its journalism more effective, as well as help local news outlets integrate the technology into their operations.
AP continues to look closely at standards around generative AI and does not use it in its news stories.
“Generative AI is a fast-moving space with tremendous implications for the news industry. We are pleased that OpenAI recognizes that fact-based, nonpartisan news content is essential to this evolving technology, and that they respect the value of our intellectual property,” said Kristin Heitmann, AP senior vice president and chief revenue officer. “AP firmly supports a framework that will ensure intellectual property is protected and content creators are fairly compensated for their work. News organizations must have a seat at the table to ensure this happens, so that newsrooms large and small can leverage this technology to benefit journalism.”
AP provides factual, nonpartisan journalism to thousands of members and customers and, since its founding in 1846, has been at the forefront of the news industry when it comes to IP protection and journalistic standards and ethics, both of which are fundamental to the use of generative AI.
“OpenAI is committed to supporting the vital work of journalism, and we’re eager to learn from The Associated Press as they delve into how our AI models can have a positive impact on the news industry,” said Brad Lightcap, chief operating officer at OpenAI. “The AP continues to be an industry leader in the use of AI; their feedback—along with access to their high-quality, factual text archive—will help to improve the capabilities and usefulness of OpenAI’s systems.”
The Associated Press has used AI technology for nearly a decade to automate some rote tasks and free up journalists to do more meaningful reporting.
AP began automating corporate earnings reports in 2014 and subsequently added automated stories previewing and recapping some sporting events, thereby expanding its content offering. Additionally, AP uses AI technology to aid in the transcription of audio and video from live events like press conferences.
In May, AP launched an AI-enabled search capability on its multiformat content delivery platform AP Newsroom, which can yield precise results for search queries based on descriptive language.
Through its Local News AI project, funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, AP continues to help local newsrooms integrate AI to be more effective and efficient. Examples include automating the writing of public safety incidents, the transcription of public meetings, and the translation of weather alerts into Spanish.
Contact
Lauren Easton
Vice President of Corporate Communications
The Associated Press
212-621-7005
leaston@ap.org
Niko Felix
OpenAI
niko@openai.com
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