November 03, 2023

Teaching AI to the Next Generation of Journalists, with Thomas Seymat

1 hour 2 minutes

Perhaps the people best positioned to thrive in tomorrow’s media ecosystem are today’s journalism students. Learning how generative AI can assist in their work while also learning the fundamentals of the trade means the next generation of reporters will have machines assisting their work from the start.

Helping guide this vanguard of robot-enhanced journalists is Thomas Seymat. Thomas is the Editorial Projects and Development Manager for Euronews, and he also teaches at the Journalist Training Center in France, one of the oldest journalism schools in Europe. This fall he’s leading a class on the use of GenAI in reporting, coaching them on how ChatGPT, Midjourney and other tools can make them stronger, more efficient reporters while also establishing where the guardrails are on their use.

Our conversation was illuminating — and somewhat reassuring — about the future of journalism and the next generation. Thomas revealed how his students are already using these tools, their thoughts on the ethics of AI, and some “road to Damascus” moments in their journey.

On the news brief, John Biggs and I discuss why labeling content as “AI assisted” is practically useless, whether or not Apple’s new AI-ready Macs mean anything, and that the White House executive order on AI might actually be pretty good? That’s up first.

Information on the AI class John and I are teaching is here. More to come on that soon.

This week's top AI stories for media:

The White House executive order on AI

Is it misguided?

Or actually pretty good?

Our take on what it means for media

Labeling won't solve AI's problems (Axios)

IAC warns regulators generative AI could wreck the web (Axios)

Apple mentions AI, finally (CNN)

The Media Copilot is a podcast and newsletter that explores how generative AI is changing media, journalism, and the news.

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