The Media Copilot

When you think about AI disrupting Hollywood, you typically think about CGI characters and creation tools like Sora and Pika that turn text prompts into impressively realistic visuals in seconds. But while technologies that create the things that meet our eyes understandably grab most of the headlines, there’s a quieter disruption happening at the very beginning of the moviemaking process.

Dilip Rajan is the co-founder of Jumpcut, whose tagline is, “Automate grunt work so you can get back to storytelling.” It does that with a product called ScriptSense, which inserts AI into the tedious slog of script coverage — the act of reading and evaluating screenplays. If a script isn’t from a known writer, a studio doesn’t have a lot to go on, so they often outsource it to a network of contractors, which obviously takes time and depends a lot on the tastes of those contractors. Powered by large language models (LLMs), ScriptSense can read way more scripts than any human could, analyze them to a common standard, and then summarize what they're about and if they're any good.

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Of course, there's a little more to it than that, but you can see why any movie studio would be interested in a machine that can read screenplays at scale, especially when there are tens of thousands of scripts floating around Hollywood at any given time — a number that will surely increase now that ChatGPT is joining the writers room.

I chatted with Dilip about where Jumpcut came from, how writers and agents should think about the disruption AI represents, and why Jumpcut's script processor might be just the tool Hollywood needs to get out of its current creativity rut. I thought it was fascinating conversation, especially when we went deep on how ScriptSense works — it's not just "Chat with PDF" on steroids.

If you want to check out Lucihub, please email us a ⁠[email protected]⁠ with Lucihub in the subject and we'd be happy to send you a discount code.

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When it comes to AI changing video, generative tools like Sora and Dream Machine have stolen a lot of the spotlight. with their ability to "imagine" video clips from text prompts. As cool as they are, most of them aren't available yet, and there's a big question of whether they actually save you any time.

But while these magic clip generators create a lot of excitement, there's a quiet disruption taking place downstream. Because in the real world, when you undertake a video project (whether it's editorial or marketing), there’s a universal rule: You want it done well, you want it done fast, and you want it done cheap. And you can only have two of those things.

Could AI put us on a path to getting all three? That's what I wanted to find out from Amer Tadayon. Amer is the CEO of Lucihub, a service that can create videos that would have taken days or weeks, and turn them around in hours — sometimes minutes. You still need to give it raw footage (it's not a purely generative tool like Sora), but it uses AI so that Lucihub’s human editors can cut videos incredibly quickly, and for a lot less than you'd pay an agency. For creative teams struggling for manpower and resources, it feels like a game-changer.

I talked with Amer about how Lucihub is disrupting the conventional wisdom around video, as well as what that means for the big picture. Could AI make video great again?

If you want to check out Lucihub, please email us a [email protected] with Lucihub in the subject and we'd be happy to send you a discount code.

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

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© AnyWho Media 2024

Quick question: How do you know it’s really me in this podcast video? After all, with AI services like Synthesia and ElevenLabs ready to clone my likeness and voice in mere minutes, it’s more than a possibility these days.

Besides obvious artifacts you might see in an AI-generated video, there’s the concept of content provenance, which in practice means a set of technical standards that imagery must adhere to so it can include metadata — nonvisible information that reveals whether an image was created by AI or not — and what modifications there were before it hit your eyeballs.

The thing is, for content provenance to work, you need everyone in the chain — from camera to website — to pay attention to it. So it turns out infrastructure plays a big role, and that’s what I wanted to to talk to Livepeer CEO Doug Petkanics about on The Media Copilot podcast.

Livepeer is a decentralized video platfom, which has an ace up its sleeve with respect to content provenance: the blockchain. By using the same tech that powers cryptocurrencies, Livepeer aims to create a cost-effective, scalable, and reliable way to both process video and label it properly. Its new AI subnet means the network now supports AI-generated content, including tools like OpenAI's video generator, Sora.

Doug and I explored the critical issue of content authenticity in the age of AI. As deepfakes and AI-generated media become more prevalent, this is obviously a growing challenge. Doug explained how Livepeer's blockchain tech can help maintain a healthy media ecosystem by providing verifiable “attestations” of content creation and modification, helping ensure that audiences can trust the what they’re looking at.

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

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© AnyWho Media 2024

Journalists are naturally skeptical people. They look critically at new things, especially when the incentives around them are complex, and that's certainly the case with AI. Given the early missteps of some sites publishing AI content and the existential threat the technology poses to distribution, it's only natural that a stigma around using AI has emerged among many reporters.

That stigma is something Josh Brandau is wearing down, one newsroom at a time. Josh is the co-founder of Nota, a content platform for augmenting newsrooms with AI tools. I spoke to Josh for The Media Copilot podcast about the company and how it's grown since its launch in the summer of 2022 — well before ChatGPT and generative AI exploded into the mainstream.

Josh and I discussed how Nota is helping newsrooms, especially small to midsize ones, giving them easy ways to leverage AI to create content more efficiently across multiple formats. But we also talked about how transformative AI is going to be, both for how journalists do their work and the industry as a whole. With everything happening with Google’s AI Search and ChatGPT’s new ability to really talk to you, that discussion is definitely more urgent than ever.

If you enjoy this conversation, I’d encourage you to follow the show on Substack, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast app, really. Also, we’d appreciate it if you’d leave a rating or review — it really does help the show. And if you’re on YouTube, please like the video and subscribe to the channel.

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

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Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Favorite⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ by Alexander Nakarada, licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License

© AnyWho Media 2024

In the latest episode of The Media Copilot podcast, I had the pleasure of talking with Jon Gillham, founder of Originality.ai, about the nuanced world of AI-generated content and its detection. Jon's company started from a simple need in his content marketing business: ensuring that content was authentically created by humans, not AI. As AI sophistication has grown, so has the necessity for robust detection tools.

The field of AI detection is more complicated than you might think. Jon points out that while not all AI content is spam, almost all spam is now AI-generated. That leads us to an unpacking of Google’s dilemma — that targeting AI-generated content in search results might result a better experience for customers but its position as a major LLM developer inherently conflicts with that goal. Nonetheless, AI detection tools are essential for publishers trying to navigate the new digital landscape without compromising their search rankings or credibility.

We also talk about the importance of transparency and authorship as AI becomes more ingrained in digital content creation. Projecting forward, you can begin to see a “hybrid” future where AI aids content creation under stringent guidelines to ensure quality and authenticity, and that’s OK!

I’m really happy with how the conversation goes deep on the complexities and realities of having AI “out in the wild” in our information ecosystem, and how the interplay between AI technologies and content creators has evolved — and will continue to evolve.

If you enjoy this conversation, I’d encourage you to follow the show on Substack, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast app, really. Also, we’d appreciate it if you’d leave a rating or review — it really does help the show. And if you’re on YouTube, please like the video and subscribe to the channel.

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

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Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Favorite⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ by Alexander Nakarada, licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License

© AnyWho Media 2024

If past is prologue, the story of how AI changes media won't have a happy ending for those in the news business. Tech platforms profoundly altered the media landscape over the last 20 years, forever redefining how news is created, distributed, and monetized, and most media brands that tethered their strategy to tech platforms now find themselves diminished and, in some cases, demolished. Will history repeat itself with AI?

To guide me toward an answer, I turned to Ricky Sutton. Ricky is one of the most interesting personalities in media today, and we spoke on The Media Copilot podcast. He’s had a wildly diverse career, cutting his teeth as a reporter before moving on to very important roles at both media companies and tech companies. That experience has enabled him to spot trends long before they were obvious to the rest of us. Ricky's also founded Oovoo, a video platform for media companies that’s powered by — what else — AI.

Last year he stepped down from the day-to-day at Oovoo to focus on AI through his own Substack called Future Media, where he regularly shares his thoughts on how AI is changing how we consume information, and how those in the media can get ahead of those trends so we’re not always at the mercy of Big Tech.

If you enjoy this conversation, I’d encourage you to follow the show on Substack, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast app, really. Also, we’d appreciate it if you’d leave a rating or review — it really does help the show. And if you’re on YouTube, please like the video and subscribe to the channel.

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

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Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Favorite⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ by Alexander Nakarada, licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License

© AnyWho Media 2024

This week on The Media Copilot podcast I’m thrilled to talk to Alex Fink. Alex is the founder and CEO of Otherweb, a news aggregator that uses AI to give readers a healthier news diet than your average social media feed. Instead of optimizing for outrage or clickbait, Otherweb favors “kale over cake” — an analogy we come back to a few times in the conversation.

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

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Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Favorite⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ by Alexander Nakarada, licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License

© AnyWho Media 2024

Yes, we know generative AI is bad for writing articles whole-cloth. But what IS it good for when you want to apply AI in a newsroom?

In this week's episode of The Media Copilot podcast, host Pete Pachal explores that question Joe Amditis, Associate Director of Operations at the Center for Cooperative Media. As part of his role, Joe researches how journalists can apply generative AI, both at the individual and organization levels, and has written guides on publicly available tools, including the how to create custom GPTs for reporting use cases.

Joe's advice to those new to using AI for journalism? Experiment. Journalists need to use AI to understand its capabilities and limitations, and should focus on low-stakes tasks initially. Once they're comfortable, some of the most useful applications he's found are:

The key takeaway: Use AI tools pragmatically to gain efficiency in workflows, but do not lose sight of the human element and relationships at the core of journalism. As long as journalists don't lose sight of creating quality, valuable content for their communities, they'll be able to find ways AI can help move faster toward that goal.

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

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Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Favorite⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ by Alexander Nakarada, licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License

© AnyWho Media 2024

What's it like to come face-to-face with your own deepfake? Anne-Marie Tomchak knows, and the encounter is captured vividly in her documentary Game Changer: AI and You, which aired recently on Ireland's public broadcaster.

It's a powerful moment, and one I would argue every journalist covering AI should experience: the unnerving feeling of seeing your own image and voice co-opted to say or do anything that the programmer desires. It's one thing to hear about a celebrity like Taylor Swift being deepfaked; it's quite another to have it done to you personally. And with the technology becoming so accessible, that becomes a greater possibility every day.

On this week's episode of The Media Copilot podcast, Anne-Marie shared the insights she gained by working on the documentary (her second on the subject of AI), zeroing in on AI's growing influence in journalism. We discussed how AI is reshaping the media landscape, from newsroom operations to content creation, and the ethical and legal conundrums emerging from AI-generated content. As the founder of BBC's social media investigative unit, Anne-Marie talks about how this technological shift is different from digital media shakeups of the past.

If you enjoy the podcast, please subscribe on your favorite platform, check out our channel on YouTube, and leave a review or a star rating. It really does help the show, and it'll ensure we keep bringing you great conversations like this one.

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

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Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Favorite⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ by Alexander Nakarada, licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License

© AnyWho Media 2024

Doing journalism with AI? What even is that?

Up until recently, the answer to that question was a small part of the profession, mostly restricted to big publications with deep pockets and a sophisticated data strategy (think: The Washington Post or the AP). But after ChatGPT said hello to the world a year and a half ago, however, "AI-powered news" was suddenly a blank canvas.

After the world saw the disastrous results of using the content produced by generative AI without a robust process surrounding the creating, vetting, and publishing of that content, the media world went back to the drawing board: What is this "magical" new technology good for, and what does a newsroom need to do to use it safely and ethically?

David Caswell spends most of his days thinking about exactly that. David has been working with machine learning and AI in media for well over a decade, leading product teams at the BBC, Tribune Publishing, and Yahoo. He's now a consultant and researcher focused on AI in newsrooms, and he wrote arguably the definitive guide on the subject last fall in his article "AI and News: What's Next?"

This week David joins The Media Copilot podcast to talk about everything that's happened since his article dropped, and how his thinking about AI's role in our media ecosystem has changed. We also explore what he hopes to see come out of The New York Times lawsuit against OpenAI, how reporters should be leveraging generative tools, and why journalists are naturally good prompt engineers.

If you enjoy the podcast, please subscribe on your favorite platform and leave a review or a star rating. It really does help the show, and it'll ensure we keep bringing you great conversations like this one.

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

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Music: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Favorite⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ by Alexander Nakarada, licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License

© AnyWho Media 2024