Microsoft and OpenAI invest massive funds to support media with artificial intelligence technologies.
Microsoft and OpenAI have announced a $10 million support for a selected group of media outlets to experiment with and develop artificial intelligence tools in newsrooms. This support consists of $2.5 million in cash, in addition to $2.5 million in program credits from each company.
The program comes at a time when Microsoft and OpenAI are facing a series of lawsuits related to copyright from several media outlets, including The New York Times, The Intercept, Raw Story, as well as institutions like the Investigative Reporting Workshop and Alden Global Capital. Despite signing licensing agreements with other media outlets such as Vox Media, the lawsuits are ongoing.
The first round of funding will be awarded to a number of local media outlets, including Newsday, Minnesota Star Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Public Media, and Seattle Times. These institutions will receive grants to hire a fellow for two years, who will work on developing and implementing artificial intelligence tools using Microsoft Azure and OpenAI services.
This program is part of a strategic partnership between Microsoft, OpenAI, and the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, aimed at supporting local media outlets and enhancing their ability to use artificial intelligence technologies to improve the quality of journalism and content production.
