BBC gen AI chief: journalists key to showing way for industry use

Journalists are playing a central role in responsible AI use in the media sector as the disinformation spurred on by the tech threatens to become an overwhelming “societal issue”, the BBC’s generative AI chief has warned.

Pete Archer, the corporation’s programme director in gen AI, urged journalists to equip themselves effectively in using the technology, noting that they are “on the front line” of the fight against the spread of misinformation caused by negligent AI use.

Speaking at Broadcast’s AI Creative Summit yesterday, Archer argued it is vital for the whole industry, but particularly those working in news and current affairs, to be “experimenting and playing with AI tools” to remain ahead of the curve.

Earlier this year, Broadcast revealed the BBC’s editorial guidance on gen AI content, compiled by Archer and editorial executive for gen AI Rachel Jupp, which outlined the safe and ethical use of the tech.

Archer told delegates that BBC journalists are using AI to create first drafts of information from third-party copy to help turn content around “really quickly”. He added the corporation is exploring its use in other media such as podcasts, where pilot series My Club Daily uses gen AI to create tailored audio updates for fans of specific football clubs.

He stressed these uses always had “a human in the loop” to ensure accuracy. Archer said having robust guardrails would minimise the spread of misinformation due to improper AI use.

“We’re starting to see disinformation at a very local level because the tools are so easy and cheap to use,” he warned. “This is at council levels and school levels, making it incredibly hard to keep an eye on. There’s a societal issue there.”

He added that distrust of the tech can unnerve audiences and viewer feedback has called for transparency when it comes to AI use in BBC journalism.

“We have direct disclosure,” he said. “We will tell the audience that we have used AI where it risks misleading you into thinking something is real. We’ll also tell you when something’s been produced with an AI.

“We found one way to dispel audiences’ undue concerns is simply to explain how it works and the ways in which we’ve created different models and fine tune different models.”

Fellow panellists at the AI – The Big Picture sessions concurred that being adept in the tech is crucial for industry practitioners.

Empress Films’ founder Emma Cooper said successful harnessing of AI “makes a punchy indie like mine bigger without reducing the headcount” and hailed the technology as “an amazing opportunity.”

IBM’s senior executive partner and AI Leader Tim Elsom added: “People who are grasping at playing with the tools will be at an advantage. We’re about to enter another exponential curve and it’s incumbent on all of us to embrace that.”