Marilyn Monroe montage composed of newspaper prints

The American Journalism Project is partnering with OpenAI to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can support a thriving, innovative local news field. OpenAI is providing $5 million to support the expansion of AJP’s work and up to $5 million in OpenAI API credits (think ChatGPT) to help its grantee organizations assess and deploy emerging AI technologies. The collaboration aims to establish lines of dialogue between the local news industry and OpenAI and develop tools that could assist local news organizations.

“To ensure local journalism remains an essential pillar of our democracy, we need to be smart about the potential powers and pitfalls of new technology,” said Sarabeth Berman, CEO of the American Journalism Project. “In these early days of generative AI, we have the opportunity to ensure that local news organizations, and their communities, are involved in shaping its implications. With this partnership, we aim to promote ways for AI to enhance—rather than imperil—journalism.”

There are many opportunities for journalism organizations to use AI. It can help with deeper analysis of public data and information, improve user experience, and create new formats for delivering information. However, AI also presents challenges for developers, journalists, and society. These include the potential spread of misinformation and complex issues like bias, privacy, and copyright.

Through this partnership, AJP aims to build a support structure for community-driven local news organizations to expand their capabilities using AI. The partnership will also help AJP’s efforts to rebuild local news and create healthier information ecosystems at local levels to combat misinformation and disinformation.

“We proudly support the American Journalism Project’s mission to strengthen our democracy by rebuilding the country’s local news sector. This collaboration underscores our mission and belief that AI should benefit everyone and be used as a tool to enhance work,” said Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. “We look forward to working with AJP and its grantees, creating a valuable feedback loop, and exploring ways AI technology can bolster the work of local journalism.”

AJP and its portfolio of local news organizations will use funds from OpenAI to experiment with the application of artificial intelligence in several ways:

Creating a technology and AI studio: AJP will form a team to evaluate how AI can be used in local news. The studio will offer expert guidance to AJP’s portfolio organizations, increase their capacity to use AI tools, and foster collaboration with external partners such as OpenAI and vendors who work on AI applications that support quality journalism and prevent the spread of misinformation. As part of this effort, the studio will establish a learning community across the AJP portfolio to document and share best practices, guidelines, and lessons learned from experiments.
Making pilot investments: AJP will provide direct grants to about ten of its portfolio organizations to help them explore opportunities to use AI. These grantees will test multiple AI applications, and their work will serve as examples for the entire local news industry on how to best use AI-powered tools.
API credits from OpenAI: In addition to $5 million in funding, OpenAI will provide up to $5 million in API credits to AJP and its portfolio organizations, who may choose to build and use tools using the technology.

The American Journalism Project works to address the market failure in local news by establishing and advancing a new generation of nonprofit local news organizations across the country. Encouraging the adoption of new technology to enhance journalism in the public interest is a core component of AJP’s venture support. To date, AJP has raised $139 million from local and national funders to address the local news crisis and has supported 41 nonprofit local news organizations across the country.

AJP was founded in 2019 with the belief that robust journalism is an essential component of healthy democracy. Local news ensures that the public remains informed and engaged. However, the decline of local news in the era of the internet has weakened the power of residents to hold community, business, and government leaders accountable and to connect with their neighbors on matters of mutual concern.

OpenAI, founded in 2015, is a research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. The company is governed by a nonprofit and its original charter today.