The rise of generative artificial intelligence has become a key topic for CEOs, including Robert Thomson, the CEO of News Corp., which owns the Wall Street Journal. During the company’s fiscal Q4 earnings call, Thomson emphasized the importance of generative AI and revealed that News Corp. is actively engaging in discussions with AI and tech companies to establish the value of their unique content sets and intellectual property. This value will play a significant role in shaping the future of AI.
News Corp. has been at the forefront of seeking payments from Big Tech for accessing their content. They successfully negotiated payments from Google, Meta, and other tech giants in exchange for access to their journalism. Now, News Corp. intends to pursue a similar deal with AI companies, some of which are the very same tech giants that have paid before.
Thomson, known for his linguistic flourishes, described the AI challenge for publishers and intellectual property. He stated, “In the first instance, our content is being harvested and scraped and otherwise ingested to train AI engines. Ingestion should not lead to indigestion. Secondly, individual stories are being surfaced in specific searches. And, thirdly, original content can be synthesized and presented as distinct when it is actually an extracting of our editorial essence. These super snippets, distilling the effort and insight of great journalism, are potentially designed so the reader will never visit a news site, thus fatally undermining journalism and damaging our societies.”
While addressing the potential challenges, Thomson also highlighted the opportunities that AI presents for News Corp. Besides generating a new stream of revenues from AI players, the technology allows the company to reduce costs across the business. Thomson explained, “From the philosophical to the functional, there is no doubt that AI articulations will affect most sections of most companies, whether it be customer service, subscription management, chatbots, chitchatbots, text to audio and audio to video. The efficiencies will be exponential.”
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However, Thomson acknowledged the high stakes involved. He expressed concerns about the potential for sophisticated forgeries and counterfeit content through generative AI. If fake news and deep fakes are already causing alarm, the possibilities for even more convincing forgeries are almost endless. Additionally, the recycling of generative AI in various deceptive forms poses a significant challenge for maintaining the integrity and authenticity of content. Thomson emphasized the crucial role of maintaining a provenance of the archival base and continually refreshing it with incremental improvements to combat these issues.
In conclusion, the rise of generative AI is a pressing concern for CEOs, including Robert Thomson of News Corp. Thomson emphasized the importance of establishing the value of their unique content sets and intellectual property in discussions with AI and tech companies, much like they have successfully done with Big Tech in the past. While recognizing the potential benefits and efficiencies that AI brings, Thomson also highlighted the need to address the risks associated with counterfeit content and the recycling of generative AI. Moving forward, finding a balance between harnessing the potential of AI and preserving the integrity of content will be crucial for the future of journalism and society at large.
