AI in Journalism
Guidelines
Artificial intelligence (AI) presents journalists with new opportunities, but also new challenges.
Generative AI programs, in particular, are able to produce a range of plausible content, be it text, image or sound, that has a strong reality effect. Journalists must therefore use such programs with diligence and restraint to ensure they produce credible journalism.
The «Declaration of the Duties and Rights of a Journalist», referred to below as the «Declaration», contains numerous directives that also apply to the proper use of generative AI.
With this in mind, the Swiss Press Council sets out the following Guidelines:
1. Where text, images, audio, video and other elements are generated artificially, journalists and editors always bear ultimate responsibility for compliance with professional ethical standards. Text or text elements generated with the aid of AI programs may therefore be used only with restraint and in the awareness of the associated issues. Before publication they must be reviewed strictly in accordance with the usual journalistic criteria of truth, accuracy and reliability. Even where AI programs are used, the journalistic process remains the same, rooted in the search for truth and demanding the proper treatment of sources.
- Section 1 of the «Declaration» / Directive 1.1 (The search for the truth)
- Section 3 of the «Declaration» / Directive 3.1 (Treatment of sources)
2. Content produced with the aid of an AI program should be marked as such. The Press Council recommends maximum transparency in this regard. Editorial staff should state explicitly where and how they use AI tools.
3. The sources on which artificially generated content is based must be known, evaluated and named to the same extent as with a «traditional» piece of journalism.
4. In view of their similarity to reality, artificially generated images, sound or video may never be confusing or misleading.
5. No confidential, personal or otherwise sensitive data may be entered into AI programs unless control over the further use of that data is guaranteed. Conversely, journalists must also verify that the use of personal data provided by AI programs is permissible.
- Section 7 of the «Declaration»
6. Originators’ rights must be respected. Content (text, images, audio, video and other elements) that an AI program takes from existing sources must be credited according to the usual citation criteria when published.
- Section 4 of the «Declaration» / Directive 4.7 (Plagiarism)
The Press Council is aware that this field is developing very rapidly. It will review its guidelines and its directives (duties and rights) regularly and amend them where necessary.
(Adopted by the Plenary Session on 17 January 2024)