Press Council urges vigilance and restraint when dealing with AI
Published: Wednesday, Mar 6th 2024, 09:10
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The Press Council advises the media to be vigilant and cautious when dealing with artificial intelligence (AI). The ethical rules are the same as in the Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Journalists, according to a guideline.
This mainly concerns the new AI tools that generate artificial content, as the Swiss Press Council wrote in a press release on Tuesday. This could be texts, images, videos, voice contributions or photos.
Journalists and editorial offices are responsible for the content they publish at all times. This responsibility cannot be transferred to an AI tool under any circumstances, emphasizes the self-regulatory body for media ethics issues in Switzerland.
This means that even if content is generated with the help of AI, journalists must check it according to the usual journalistic criteria of truthfulness, accuracy and reliability before publication.
Labeling obligation
The Press Council is also calling for content created with the help of artificial intelligence to be labeled as such. Editorial offices would have to explicitly state where and how they use such programs.
The rules regarding sources also remain valid, as the Press Council emphasizes. Journalists must know and evaluate the sources on which the content generated by artificial intelligence is based. The origin of the information must be stated in the same way as for a "traditional" journalistic topic.
The Press Council makes a special recommendation regarding products such as sounds, images or videos. These should never be misleading or confusing due to their similarity to reality.
Furthermore, according to the Press Council, no confidential, personal or "otherwise sensitive data" may be entered into AI programs without ensuring control over their further use.
Copyright must also be respected. Content that is taken from existing sources by AI must be cited according to the usual criteria, the Press Council wrote. As AI is developing rapidly, the committee intends to review the guidelines on an ongoing basis and adapt them if necessary.
While the duties do not currently require any new guidelines, the Foundation Council of the Press Council is discussing an adjustment to the rights of journalists. The AI is disrupting the industry and thus also journalistic working conditions, is the reason given. Practically the entire industry is a member of the Board of Trustees.
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