(Web Desk) - Google initiated a private program exclusively for a select group of independent publishers, granting them beta access to an unreleased generative artificial intelligence platform.
Documents reveal that in exchange for analytics and feedback, participating news organizations are required to utilize the suite of tools to generate a specified volume of content over a 12-month period.
As part of this arrangement, the publishers are entitled to a monthly stipend, totaling a five-figure sum annually. Additionally, they gain access to resources that enable the production of content tailored to their readership without incurring any costs.
A Google representative clarified that the collaboration aims to explore providing AI-enabled tools to support journalists, particularly those from smaller publishers. They emphasized that speculation about the tool being used to republish content from other outlets is inaccurate.
The experimental tool is designed responsibly to assist local publishers in creating high-quality journalism using factual content from public data sources, such as local government information offices or health authorities.
Addressing concerns, the representative asserted that these tools are not intended to and cannot replace the crucial role journalists play in reporting, creating, and fact-checking their articles.
The recently introduced beta tools empower under-resourced publishers to streamline the creation of aggregated content.
These tools operate by indexing recently published reports from various organizations, including government agencies and neighboring news outlets. The system then summarizes and compiles this information into new articles.
Among the array of AI experiments Google has unveiled in the past two years is Genesis, a codenamed project capable of generating entire news articles. The New York Times reported that Genesis was privately demonstrated to several publishers last summer.
Additionally, other initiatives like the Search Generative Experience and Gemini are publicly accessible, posing a potential challenge to the established commercial foundations of digital publishing.
This initiative is part of the Google News Initiative, launched in 2018 with the goal of providing publishers with advanced technology and training resources.