Microsoft partners news website Semafor for AI-assisted stories

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft has announced its partnership with media platform Semafor and other news organisations to help journalists work with generative artificial intelligence (AI) to produce content.

Microsoft said that collaboration with these organisations will help them responsibly use AI in their news gathering and business practices by identifying and refining procedures and policies.

“Semafor will work with us to harness AI tools to assist journalists in their research, source discovery, translation, and more with Semafor Signals, helping journalists provide a diverse array of credible local, national, and global sources to their audience,” Microsoft said in a blogpost on Monday.

The company has also announced its collaboration with news organisations, such as the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, the Online News Association and the GroundTruth Project, in order to integrate generative AI into their work and newsrooms.

According to the company, each organisation will have access to Microsoft experts, technology, and support this year, and has committed to sharing the results of their projects with the wider industry to teach, inspire, and innovate the way news will be produced in the future.

“Working directly with newsrooms, universities, journalists, and industry groups, we will help these organisations use AI to grow audiences, streamline time-consuming tasks in the newsroom, and build sustainable business operations,” Microsoft said.

The tech giant also noted that their goal is to find ways to support journalists in this mission, not replace them.