Chicago Public Media is among the news organizations receiving a share of $10 million from the Lenfest Institute for Journalism in partnership with OpenAI and Microsoft to support experimenting with AI.
The funding will allow CPM and other news outlets to each hire an AI Fellow for two years “to pursue projects that focus largely on improving business sustainability and implementing AI technologies within their organizations,” according to a press release.
CPM will focus its efforts on using AI for transcription, summarization and translation “to expand content offerings and reach new audiences,” according to the release.
The outlets will also receive OpenAI and Microsoft Azure credits to “experiment and develop tools to assist with local news,” according to the release.
“Through these fellowships — and by sharing results with the broader news industry — we will help empower local newsrooms to explore, implement and advocate for AI business solutions that uphold the highest ethical standards while strengthening their future prospects,” Jim Friedlich, executive director and CEO of The Lenfest Institute, said in the release.
The Minnesota Star Tribune, Newsday, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Seattle Times will also receive funding. A second round of grants will be awarded to three more outlets.