2023-11-28 17:23:27
For the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF), it is a way of combining “two major emergencies of the moment” : artificial intelligence (AI) and climate change. The Spinoza project, announced on November 14 and also supported by the General Information Press Alliance (Apig), consists of developing an AI tool to facilitate quality journalistic production on ecology.
Like the famous ChatGPT, this prototype will be able to produce synthetic texts based on a simple written instruction: “Where is the ice melting? »for example, or “Give me three arguments against industrial salmon fishing”. The journalist is then tasked with writing his article or preparing his audiovisual content by drawing on the information offered to him by the system.
More reliable than ChatGPT
However, this information – this is the whole point of the approach – could prove to be more reliable than that provided by the very general ChatGPT. “Our prototype will be connected to three databases: IPCC reports, press articles devoted to climate change, and legal texts on the subject”explains Vincent Berthier, head of RSF’s technology office. “The tool will be trained to react in accordance with journalistic methods of searching for information: by prioritizing certain sources over others, but also by knowing when it doesn’t know, without answering anything. »
Above all, the Spinoza project aims to guarantee intellectual property on journalistic productions. Since the summer, the French media have started to organize themselves in the face of the (free) collection of their content by systems like ChatGPT, which “nourish” in their training phase – like the rest of the Internet. “By developing transparent AI that respects sources, we are making a political gesture”says Pierre Petillault, of Apig, which brings together nearly 300 national, regional and local daily news titles.
The need for AI supplying companies to credit sources, respect intellectual property rights and remunerate rights holders is also one of the main principles laid down by RSF in a charter also made public, mid-November: the Paris charter on AI and journalism. In a balance of power that looks unfavorable to say the least for press publishers, the NGO pleads, with this text, for strong regulation of the tech giants.
Preserve journalistic ethics
“But this is not enough to free the media from the use of these products”, specifies Arthur Grimonpont, AI project manager at RSF. Hence the numerous articles in this charter (which has ten in all) devoted to the responsibilities of the media themselves: being transparent to the public when they use such tools; guarantee the origin and traceability of their production; make a clear distinction between authentic content and “synthetics”…
“The short-term interest of each editorial team is not at all the same as the long-term interest of the entire professionrecognizes Arthur Grimonpont. The media often see AI as an inexpensive tool that will save them time and money. But these short-term gains can harm journalistic ethics and professional conduct. Our charter aims to preserve the social function of journalism. »
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