between Meta, the media and the Albanese government, spare a thought for the ABC. Of all the media outlets who could soon lose a significant chunk of free money, the public broadcaster will likely be hit the hardest.
Sure, it gets plenty of funding from the government. But the ABC diligently took its Meta cash and hired 60 journalists, adding 10 new regional areas for coverage. Losing this revenue would “create a financial challenge” for the ABC, MDThe public broadcaster inked its deal with Meta, née Facebook, near the end of 2021 – in December, we’re told. News Corp, meanwhile, struck its deal in May or June.
Per one of the contracts: “Facebook may terminate this … commercial agreement … if, at any time during the term: … Facebook or any of its affiliates receives a notice under the News Media Code that the minister intends to make a determination designating Facebook News Feed, Instagram, WhatsApp or any other service of Facebook or its Affiliates.
Newsrooms have very little clue whether AI is a devastating, existential threat or really just a helpful thing. Maybe, like Facebook, it’s both. It has so far yielded some truly terrible results – In Carroll’s note, he included the “do & don’t guidelines” for AI – nine rules for life with emerging technology. “Do: use AI to generate content if using original source input data.” News is already using AI toOther guidelines: “Don’t: use AI systems to generate or distribute content without permission. Do: look for evidence of potential discriminatory bias in the AI system.” Also, don’t present AI work as original when it isn’t. And make sure someone has a look at it.