Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and 16 partners launched the Paris Charter on AI and Journalism

On November 10th, 2023, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and 16 partner organisations published the Paris Charter on AI and Journalism, on the occasion of Paris Peace Forum. Work on the Paris Charter on AI and Journalism was launched in July 2023 in partnership with civil society organisations, experts in artificial intelligence, media representatives and journalists. Learn more here.

The charter was written by a commission that was brought together by RSF and was chaired by Maria Ressa, a journalist who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021. The commission comprised 32 prominent persons from 20 different countries who are specialists in journalism or AI. The goal was clear – to determine a set of fundamental ethical principles to protect the integrity of news and information in the AI age, when these technologies are poised to transform the media industry.

Many organisations came together in an unprecedented manner to support the efforts of the commission and RSF. They included leading organisations that defend journalism and the media (Committee to Protect Journalists, Canadian Journalism Foundation, DW Akademie, European Journalism Centre, Ethical Journalism Network, Free Press Unlimited, Global Forum for Media Development, International Press Institute, Pulitzer Centre, Thomson Foundation), a federation of journalists (European Federation of Journalists), an organization that represents public service media (Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union), an ICT research center (Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa) and investigative journalism consortia (Global Investigative Journalism Network, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project).

List of the committee members :

• Maria Ressa (chair), 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, journalist, and founder of Rappler Media (Philippines)
• Charlie Beckett, Professor at the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics (United Kingdom)
• Emily Bell, Professor at the Columbia School of Journalism and Director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism (United States)
• Veysel Binbay, Director of Technology at the Asian Broadcasting Union (ABU) (Malaysia)
• Lisa Campbell, Director of Communications at Independent Television Network (ITN) (United Kingdom)
• Camille François, Faculty, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (France)
• Jodie Ginsberg, President of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) (United States)
• Ruth Kronenburg, Executive Director of Free Press Unlimited (Netherlands)
• Gary Marcus, Professor emeritus of psychology and neural science at New York University, author and entrepreneur (United States)
• Frane Maroevic, Executive Director of the International Press Institute (IPI) (Austria)
• Mira Milosevic, Executive Director of the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) (Serbia)
• Tabani Moyo, Convenor of IFEX, Regional Director of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) (Zimbabwe)
• Bruno Patino, President of the Franco-German channel Arte (France)
• Paul Radu, Co-founder of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) (Romania)
• Martha Ramos, President of the World Editors Forum at the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) (Mexico)
• Gerard Ryle, Director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) (Ireland)
• Stuart Russell, Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley, and founder of the Center for Human-compatible AI (CHAI) (United States)
• Eric Scherer, Chair, the News Committee at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Director of News MediaLab and International Affairs at France Télévisions (France)
• Anya Schiffrin, Director of the Specialization in Technology, Media, and Communications at Columbia University (United States)
• Wairagala Wakabi, Executive Director of the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) (Uganda)
• Aidan White, founder of the Ethical Journalism Network (EJN) and former Secretary General of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) (United Kingdom)

In response to the turmoil that AI has created in the news and information arena, the Charter defines ten key principles for safeguarding the integrity of information and preserving journalism’s social role. Inter alia, the core principles state:

• Ethics must govern technological choices within the media;
• Human agency must remain central in editorial decisions;
• The media must help society to distinguish between authentic and synthetic content with confidence;
• The media must participate in global AI governance and defend the viability of journalism when negotiating with tech companies.

GFMD will use its position in the working group to put forward voices and evidence from members and engage our community on the subject through the next round of consultation on principles and information integrity. We welcome members who wish to contribute to this initiative by emailing helpdesk-impact@gfmd.info.